A Black and White Story: Book Four
by Brown-Eyed-Marauderette
Summary: Sequel to ABAWS: B3. With the First Wizarding War officially underway, everything has changed. It's not going to be an easy year but anything easy isn't worth it. The petty rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin is no longer so petty. The relationships they have are no longer fleeting. It is time to let some people go while also welcoming some back home where they belong.
1. A Muggle Summer

_Hello everyone, I am positively thrilled to welcome you all to the fourth installment of A Black and White Story. This book picks up exactly where we left off in the last book. I don't have much to say, seeing as this is the first chapter. The only thing is that anything you even remotely recognize from the books is property of JK Rowling. _

_Also, I would like to point out that the first chapter of this story is being publish on the same day as the first book was published, exactly one year later. This year has been amazing and I would just like to take a moment to thank every reader because I don't know if I would have made it to this point with this amount of inspiration without you guys. You keep me writing so thank you, from the very bottom of my heart, I thank you.  
_

_Now on with the story! Please enjoy!  
_

* * *

Beginning in January, there was a subtle shift in the world. Nothing noticeable, nothing that people would fuss over. Simply put, it was a bad feeling. It was the skip of their heart every time they thought they saw something out of the corner of their eyes. It was the nervousness that would settle in their hearts when a loved one was out of sight. It was the fear when a friend or neighbor didn't pick up the phone by the second ring or answer the door within a few seconds. Some reasoned that they had reason to fear. Fear what? They didn't exactly know but they knew it was out there. The wizards and witches knew, oh they knew, but there wasn't much they could do. If they fought, they marked their family for death. If they stepped out of the way, they were somewhat responsible for the murder of innocent muggles. The decision that every single person made was another Dark Mark in the sky, no matter which option they chose.

There was death and dying everywhere across the United Kingdom. Wizards and otherwise magical beings were too scared to leave their homes. Unsuspecting muggles were dying daily in mysterious fires, bridge collapses, and about every week or so, some seemingly random victim was murdered in cold blood with no obvious sign of death. Muggles didn't know it, but the 'kind hearted, secretive, and honestly, a bit odd' neighbors were muggleborn witches and wizards, murdered because of the magic running through their veins. But since no one besides the magical community knew, the deaths remained unconnected by the local bobby's. Yet, the body count continued to rise and rise.

It was baffling to the muggle population. With the telly reporting every 'accident' it seemed like the United Kingdom, mainly England, was suffering of a year of terrible luck. With minor Earthquakes randomly springing up, six tornadoes impossibly forming on perfectly perfect days, hundreds of unexplainable fires across the whole country, it almost looked like a war with torn down buildings and scorch marks marring the cities. Yet, somehow, people outside the city or the country remained blissfully unaware.

They really didn't have a reason to be worried, Elyse supposed. Nothing had changed in the Podunk town of Kiltimagh. Every morning the baker set out his goods, the school teachers ushered kids towards the schools for summer classes, the parents let their kids out their house without a single warning, and everyone was content to start another normal day.

Everyone, that is, besides Elyse.

Ever since she got home, she felt the cloud looming over her shoulder. The war was unshakable. It haunted her thoughts in the day while terrorizing her dreams at night. All she saw was death and destruction and pain and loss and bitterness. It all flashed in her mind like a picture book.

_She saw Marlene lying in a coffin._

_She saw Ben's tombstone._

_She saw Hogwarts on fire._

_She saw Ursula's tombstone._

_She saw Molly Weasley getting the news her brothers would never come home again._

_She saw Sirius's tombstone._

_She saw Ben being tortured._

_She saw Peter's tombstone._

_She saw James fighting Voldemort._

_She saw Remus's tombstone._

_She saw a lone red head defying the Dark Lord._

_She saw James's tombstone._

_She saw muggles burning alive._

_She saw Lily's tombstone._

_She saw dead bodies walking._

_She saw Regulus's tombstone._

_She saw the Bones family there one second before being blown to bits._

_She saw her family's tombstones._

_She saw Sirius and Peter standing face to face before a blinding explosion._

_She saw her own…_

"LYSSIE!"

Elyse awoke with a jolt, almost falling out of bed as her little five year old brother, Sean, jumped up and down. She grabbed his legs and pulled him down so he was laying down next to her, giggling hysterically.

"I got yeh Lyssie! I got yeh!" He laughed; proud of the fact he was able to scare his sister.

She laughed along with him, trying not to make it sound as forced as it truly was, "Yeh, did but it's eight 'n teh mornin', Sean."

"Pat's waitin' fer yeh downstairs. Mummy told meh ter come git yeh!" He exclaimed happily.

Elyse's eyes widened and she scrambled to get out of bed only for her feet to get tangled. She promptly fell in a heap on her floor in a tangled mess much to the amusement of her brother. As she fell, her foot caught a pile of books, knocking them to floor causing an even louder crash.

"Is everythin' alright oop 'ere?" Elyse's mother shouted up.

"Yeh. Just gimme a minute!' Elyse shouted back down. Once she untangled herself from her blanket, she grabbed Sean up and spun him around the room and safely deposited him outside of her room. Once she was back in the sanctuary of her own room, she grabbed her books from the floor. She was thankful that Pat hadn't decided to wake her up himself, she had spent the last night reading a book about charms.

Even more damning was a small booklet with a cover of purple paper that was handed out to every single student on the train on their way back home.

**Issued on Behalf of the Ministry of Magic**

1. Be back home or in a safe place once the sun goes down. Prevent trips that require travel at twilight or night. If it is unavoidable, travel in groups of at least four with at least two over age wizards or witches.

2. All wizards, underage or otherwise, should always carry their wands with them at all times. It is advisable to keep wands out of sight of muggles. If threatened by a Death Eater (see page 3) all wizards should defend themselves without worry of repercussions. Even if the attack is in front of muggles or the wizard or witch is underage, the Statute of Secrecy (see page 2) will be temporarily suspended to defend your life or the life of your family.

3. Be sure that family members know emergency procedures if under attack. Muggle families are included under this.

4. If neighbors or family members are behaving odd or different compared to their usual behavior, do not hesitate to contact the Ministry (on how to do this, see page 5). It is possible they might be under the imperious curse (see page 6) and will be unable to reason. Do not approach on your own.

5. There is a possibility that the Death Eaters are employing the service of other magical beings. Be certain to identify the beast/creature properly before attack. Be sure to use the proper counter attack when appropriate.

6. There have been reports of inferi (see page 4) being used by Dark Forces. If you live near a graveyard and see suspicious happenings, contact the Ministry immediately and stay indoors at all times. If possible, get other family and neighbors to do the same without attracting suspicion.

7. If the Dark Mark (see pages 8-9) appears over any house, building, or other area, it is almost certain that someone has died. Contact the Auror Department (see page 10) immediately. They will arrive and take care of the situation.

8. ABOVE ALL ELSE, VALUE YOUR LIFE AND SAFETY. DO NOT GO LOOKING FOR DANGER.

She threw at to the side and grabbed her visions journal and quickly tried to record the plethora of visions from her sleep. She quickly wrote down the snippets and tried to sketch the tombstones. She got their names but that was. The frustration grew as she tried to recall a single date, even a year would suffice. Yet it seemed as if her mind had purposely forgotten the dates. She bit the edge of her pencil, picking at her mind, trying to remember the exact detail. Nothing ever became clearer. Eventually she gave up and began getting ready for the day,

Once she was dressed, she went down the stairs and was greeted with the sight of her boyfriend waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her. Pat smiled at her and offered his hand to her to help her down the last few steps. Once she was on the landing, he pulled her forward and stole a quick kiss from her.

"Good mornin' love," he greeted.

"Good mornin', Patty."

He smiled at the old nickname. Elyse's heart skipped a beat. There were few things that could make her forget the war but his smile had to be the most effective of them all.

"So I was thinkin' we could go fer a walk 'n maybe later we could meet up wit some 'o mi mates from school later," Pat offered.

Elyse smiled, "Alright."

He smiled wider and grabbed her hand towards the kitchen where her mother was preparing breakfast. They just sat down at the table, getting ready to dig into the delicious food Mrs. O'Brian made when there was a tap at the window.

"Um, Love, there's 'n owl at yer window," Pat said. His eyes were wide, just like Elyse's were. She shared a panicked look with her mother before rushing over to get the bird and the letter.

"It's nothin'," she tried to explain. "One o' me friends' dads trains animals an' James likes ter send his mail wit 'em."

"James?" Pat raised his eyebrows. "How come I've neva met any o' yer friends? We've been datin' fer almost a year an' a half now! Do 'ey they even know aboot me?"

"Yeah, yeah," Elyse answered, slightly distracted as she ripped open James's letter.

_Lucky,_

_I hope that this letter reaches you safely. I've been checking the news and I haven't heard anything about Kiltimagh so I assume that you are okay. If not, well, I guess you'll see in a little bit. I just wanted to keep you up to date about some recent developments._

_So far, Muse and Padfoot are still at their parents' house. I keep on trying to convince them to come home but Muse's being bloody stubborn. Listen, I know this is asking a bit from you but you are the only person that she actually listens to. Please, write her or somehow get in contact with her and try to convince her to leave. If they stay any longer….you don't need me to finish that thought._

_Time is of the essence because their Uncle Alphard is dying. He wants to see them one last time but his twisted sister isn't allowing him even on the same block as the house. He's really sick and every time I try to tell one of the twins this, they have to leave for some reason or another. Please, just try to write them._

_And before you find out some other way, King got into a bit of trouble. No one knows what really happened but he got called on underage magic and rumor is that it was on a muggle our age. His dad is trying to cover it up but when the minister's son curses (allegedly) a muggle, it gets out. With the war going on, this is possibly the worst thing that could happen, especially for the Ministry. They think there will be an increase in attacks in the next few weeks because people aren't exactly fans of Jay White anymore with his son running around cursing muggles. Just be careful._

_See you soon,_

_Prongs_

Elyse's brow furrowed at the contents of the letter. Questions were flying through her mind a thousand miles a minute. Ursula and Sirius were still in trouble, their uncle was dying, Ben was cursing muggles, and now they think there's going to be more attacks?

Before she could sort through any of questions, the letter was snatched out of her hand.

"Woot's this?" Pat asked.

Elyse dove over the table and snatched the letter from Pat's hands, "It's nothing!" She exclaimed, shoving the letter in her pocket.

"Seriously?" Pat asked, sounding slightly angry. "I've been putting up wit a lot from yeh and yeh don't even offer me any bloody explanation! Woot teh hell's goin on!?" He demanded.

Thinking on her feet and trying to avoid a fight in her kitchen, she grabbed Pat's hand and practically dragged him out of the house. "Let's go fer a walk," she suggested before running off into the fields waiting for Pat to join her. Not one to disappoint, he joined her seconds later.

He grabbed her arm and yanked her back to face him. "No! Yer gonna listen ter me! Ever since yeh's been back from yer fancy boardin' school, yeh's been lookin' like teh bloody sky is gonna fall! Yeh don't smile anymore! Yeh's always lookin' fer those freakin' owls that're supposed ter be bloody NOCTURNAL! Yeh keep on getting' letters from yer friends I've neva met! 'and I'm pretty sure yeh's freaky newspaper bloody MOVES! WOOT TEH HELL'S GOIN' ON!?" he demanded slightly hysterically at the phenomenons that he could never comprehend.

Elyse was silent through his entire rant, knowing that every word was true. "Pat," she said calmly, "I can't tell you."

"Can't or won't?" He challenged.

"Both." She admitted honestly.

He let go of her arm and spun away from her. He ran his hand through his hair agitatedly before rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm tryin' 'ere, Elyse. But yeh've got ter gimme somethin'."

"It's too complicated," she offered as an excuse. It wasn't really an excuse though. It was just complicated in different ways than what would be complicated for him. The war was complex enough for her to understand, she couldn't explain that to a muggle.

He shook his head and walked back over to stand in front of her. He took her hands in his hands and his sky blue eyes looked into her green. "Yer eyes aren't teh same anymore. Please, let me help."

For almost a minute, she just stared at him trying to decide if she could tell him anything. Finally she nodded, resigned to the fact that while she couldn't tell him everything, she had to tell him something.

"I'll try ter explain everythin' but it's a really long story." She warned.

"We have time."

Elyse nodded and began to walk hand in hand with Pat down one of the dirt paths through the fields surrounding her house. After a minute of trying to figure out where to start, she began.

"Yeh know the school I go to?"

He nodded, "Hamlet School for Writers and Wonderers. It's a school fer writers and philosophical thinking, right?"

"Yeah. Well, 'ere's four houses all named for animals; Snakes, Badgers, Ravens, 'n Griffins. Each house has a set o' ideals. Sometimes, 'ose ideals clash. Notoriously, it's always been teh Snakes 'n teh Griffins. I'm part of the Griffin House."

"So yeh've got a house rivalry?" he scoffed.

"It's more than 'hat." She responded. "This rivalry goes back ter teh foundin' o' teh school. There've been blow ups between teh houses before, but neva like 'his. There's a headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, 'n he's from Griffind— so he's standin' against teh Snakes. And teh "Prime Minister" o' teh school is Jay White 'n he's from Griffin too. But tere's this bloke, he's graduated, 'n he wants control o' teh school."

"Woot's so important aboot 'his school?" Pat asked. "I've neva 'eard aboot it before."

"It's old 'n has a lot o' money." She tried to explain, mixing truth with lies. "They've got some political influence, mostly in London. But back ter me explanation. Me friends're all from old families from teh school. Since this feud's worse than teh past ones, their families've picked sides. Ursula 'n Sirius's parents are on the Snakes side even though tey's both Griffins. They're in danger."

"Why're tey in danger? It's just a feud."

Elyse shook her head sadly, "Remember me friend's sister dyin' in a car crash?"

Pat nodded, "Woot does—"

"We don't think it was an accident." She said bluntly.

He stopped midstep, a horrified look on his face. "Oh me God."

She nodded. "A few otha graduates've gone missin or died unda mysterious circumstances too. It's getting' dangerous. And me friends're right in the cross fire. I worry."

"I'm so sorry. If I'd've known…" Pat said, feeling guilty for pushing this.

"Yeh had no way o' knowin'." She assured him. "None o' us go 'round tellin' people. And yeh shouldn't tell anyone either."

"I won't. Promise." He sealed his promised with a quick kiss before tugging her gently back towards town. "Let's go see if anyone else's up. Casey said she's got somethin' fer all o' us."

Fifteen minutes later, they were all sitting in the jungle gym in the local park, all of them eating out of a large container of different flavored popcorn. Casey McGovern's aunt ran the local sweet shop and always liked to test out new treats on her niece's friends. Besides Pat and Elyse, Casey's friends Michael, Lauren, and Hannah were there.

Though they had all known each other since they were born, Elyse felt awkward trying to talk to the other girls. They seemed so focused on boys and other menial gossip about people Elyse hadn't seen in years. After a rant about the horrendous Mrs. McNamara, their literature teacher for the last two years, Casey focused her attention on Elyse.

"So how's yer fancy boardin' school?" She sneered slightly. "To be honest, I neva thought yeh was that special."

Trying to keep her temper in check, Elyse coolly responded, "I'm more special 'an yeh could eva imagine."

Lauren chortled, "Seriously? Yeh barely passed fourth grade, yeh kept on zonin' out. I heard teh teacher's talkin'. They thought yeh was dumb."

Elyse could barely contain her anger. Her hand flew to her pocket, touching the familiar silver lime wand. If she had been at Hogwarts, she would have hexed the girl, any of her friends already would have.

"I'll've yeh know, I'm at teh top o' me class," Elyse spat. "I'm sure teh only thin' yeh's passin' is –"

A hand was on her shoulder, cutting her off from finishing her sentence. "Love, just stop," Pat hissed in her ear.

"Why should I?" She hissed right back, infuriated that Pat seemed to be talking Casey's side.

He stood up and helped her stand before walking over to a slightly higher part of the jungle gym. "Listen, Elyse, I don't like Casey either, but she was datin' Seamus when he died. She's had a lot of problems dealin' wit it. Please, I know she's actin' like a bitch, but she's just dealin' with it her own way. Just like yer friend Ben 'n his sista."

"Don't yeh dare compare Ben ter that witch." Elyse said in a low voice. "Woot 'appened was not teh same at all."

"Dammit Elyse, why's it 'at yer friends get all teh breaks but me friends're judged?" He spat at her. "Woot make's yer friends so bloody special? I git they're in danger 'n all that, but they're not teh only ones dealing wit that stuff. I know yeh weren't here when it happened, but that train accident destroy us. Me best friend died! Yeh wasn't even here! Yeh neva seen yer friends die!"

Before Elyse could respond, she was violent tugged backwards over the edge of the railing. She screamed, tumbling down into someone's grasp. The person held her over their shoulder, spinning her around. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the black, unruly hair and instantly relaxed and laughed along with her captor.

Pat on the other hand, shouted her name and jumped over the railing, running towards Elyse. "Who teh hell do you think yeh are!" Pat asked, reaching for Elyse to pull her away from the stranger.

James smirked and held his hand out, "I think I'm the brilliant James Potter, best friend to Lucky here." He said, ruffling her hair with his free hand. She laughed, her bad mood completely gone. Pat warily shook James's hand.

"Pat Finnigan, Elyse's boyfriend."

Elyse hadn't noticed but Remus and Peter were also there. As they introduced themselves to her boyfriend, she discreetly turned to James.

"Where's—"

"Sirius and Ursula are still at Grimmauld Place." He said grimly. "Things are getting really bad. They should be coming to my house any day now, at least."

"Woot's really bad?" Elyse asked under her breath, fear evident in her voice.

James didn't look at her and instead looked at the group on the other side of the jungle gym staring at Remus's scars on his face. He clenched his hands, his eyes narrowing at them. He turned towards Elyse and muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "Their mother tried to use the Cruciatus Curse on them yesterday. They got out unscathed but it's only a matter of time before she succeeds."

He clapped her on the shoulder once before walking over to the still staring teens and said something to them that caused them all to turn a brilliant red and look away. When he walked back, he had a smug look on his face. "I love scaring muggles." He said gleefully, ignoring Elyse's horrified face.

Remus walked over with Pat and Peter. Remus rolled his eyes, "James, control yourself." He said as a warning, though he looked relieved now that he was no longer being stared at. The people at Hogwarts no longer stared at his scars but muggles were a completely different story.

Pat walked over and put his arm around Elyse, "So where's teh rest o' yer merry band o' friends? Ursula, Sirius, and Ben right? Elyse mentioned they might be in a bit o' trouble."

They all tensed at the mention of the three missing. Elyse knew that Pat was trying to show that he was interested in the well-being of her friends, but it was not something any of them liked discussing.

"Sirius and Ursula are stuck at their parents home, I'm sure Lucky explained their situation."

"Lucky?" Pat questioned.

James smirked a bit, "She is our Lucky charm."

Pat was not amused by the joke. Peter chuckled however at the blatant but believable lie. James shook Pat's shoulder, "Aw, com'mon Patty! Laugh a little!"

Just then, the church bells started ringing, signaling that it was noon. "Well, lads, me mam wanted me back at noon. I guess I'll see yeh later." He seemed slightly put off by James, instead choosing to speak to Remus. Remus nodded understandingly, "It was nice meeting you."

"Same." He nodded at him and Peter.

Elyse took Pat's hand, "I'll walk home wit yeh. Remus, don't let 'em git in too much trouble."

"Me? Trouble?" James questioned incredulously. "Never."

"I'll do my best," Remus answered, smiling reassuringly at Elyse. When he smiled, Elyse noticed that there was a new scar that went across his face, going from under his left eye to just above his upper lip. Not for the first time, Elyse wished that there was more they could do for their kind hearted friend. It frustrated her to no end that she wasn't able to transform yet to accompany him on his moonlit transformations. Though she was a bit uncertain what a little rabbit could do against a unreasonable werewolf, she still wanted to help.

When walking home with Pat, there was no talking. It seemed as though there was some tension still left over from their two fights that morning. Pat was the one to try to break the ice.

"So woot 'appened ter Remus's face? Run into a tree?" He joked.

Elyse ripped her hand from his and glared at him, "He was attacked by a dog when he was a kid. Teh scars'll neva fade."

"Sorry," Pat said. He at least had the decency to look sheepish. He stopped at the foot of the path to his front door. He took her hand. "Listen, Elyse, I'm sorry I've been actin' like a prat lately but yeh got ter understand. It just hit me last year, me best friend is dead. Seamus's neva comin' back. 'N then I see yer friends 'n I git jealous. It's not right, but it's teh truth."

"I giddit," Elyse said, remembering the flashes of all the deaths she had seen, ones that had already happened and ones that were yet to happen. "Yeh just've teh talk ter me, alright?"

He smiled and kissed her. "Woot did I eva do ter deserve yeh?"

She shrugged and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I ask me self teh same thing. Now get inside before yeh Mum comes out 'ere."

They shared one last kiss before he went back into his house and Elyse walked back to the park. She found her three friends sitting on the swings, chatting quietly among each other. She walked up behind Remus and rested her elbows on his shoulders. He didn't even jump at the touch, no doubt hearing her because of his sensitive hearing.

"So woot're yeh guys doin' here?"

Peter shrugged, "James just showed up with Remus and said that we were going to visit you."

With that, Elyse turned her attention to James who answered, "With everything going on, we just wanted to make sure that you were okay with your family. That and I found out more about what happened with King."

"Woot happened?" Elyse asked as she sat down on her own swing.

"We're not supposed to know this but I just happened to overhear—"

"By that he means he hid behind a door," Remus butted in, smirking slightly.

James glared at his friend and shoved his shoulder, causing him to swing into Peter, laughing.

"As I was saying before I was _rudely_ interrupted, I overheard a conversation between my dad and Minister White. Apparently Ben was on his way to visit his sister's grave. On his way there, he overheard some kids talking. When they saw him, they said something about Annabelle. Everyone in town knew she was pregnant and unmarried and one of those kids said something. Mr. White didn't say, but even _he_ sounded furious. Next thing you know, King whips out his wand and BAM! Ben gets in a whole shit load of trouble."

Elyse shook her head, "I just can't believe it. Ben?"

Remus spoke up softly, "It's not Ben. The person we are friends with isn't there right now. Ben would never hurt someone who couldn't defend themselves."

"He would," James said. "For Annabelle…or Ursula." He added as an afterthought.

Peter snorted, "He's got a bloody brilliant way of showing it."

They all frowned slightly at the bitterness in Peter's tone. It sounded odd coming from him.

None of them had time to dwell on his remark when a loud yell came from James's pocket. "JAMES!"

His eyes widening, James grabbed the three way mirror out of his pocket, "Sirius?"

"James! Bloody hell, where are you?! The floo's blocked!" Sirius shouted through the mirror, other people shouting in the background, things crashing, soft swishes of magic, and suddenly, someone screaming bloody murder.

"I'll be there," James swore, his tone losing its joking quality as he became deadly serious, and jumped off the swing and ran to the nearest road with the rest of the group behind him, exchanging worried looks. James grabbed his wand and held it out. Seconds later, a large bus appeared. Before the driver could say anything, he jumped up.

Elyse asked him, "Woot're yeh doin?" She demanded of him, fear painfully squeezing her heart and worry settling in her stomach. She wasn't the only one, Remus and Peter looked the exact same way, the later even more so.

James turned around and smirked arrogantly, an overly zealous and slightly maniacal look in his eyes, "I'm going to do something incredibly brave or stupid depending on your point of view. NUMBER 12 GRIMMAULD PLACE!" he shouted to the driver. He barely had time to wave to his friends before disappearing from view on the night bus, leaving the three stunned teens behind.


	2. A House is Not a Home

_I am honestly speechless. The response I got from the last chapter...well, it was simply overwhelming! I have never had 10 people favorite, 17 people alert, or 9 people review for one chapter ever. I was blown away. Thank you all so much for being absolutely fantastic! _

_This chapter is a bit of dialogue with different characters but this is one the chapters I've had in mind since the beginning (at least the end part) so I hope that you all enjoy. Be on the look out, one character makes their debut "words" in this chapter.  
_

* * *

There were three knocks at Ursula's door, startling her out of her thoughts. She was lying on her bed, tossing a Quaffle up and down, mulling over how she could get Regulus alone in this hell hole of a house. Her mother seemed to pick up on her plan and never left her youngest son alone with her only daughter. They had only been home two weeks and the intended one month the twins intended to stay got shorter and shorter each day.

"Come in," she pointed her wand at her door and unlocked it nonverbally.

Sirius walked in, favoring his left leg, and sat down on top of her desk. "Mother Dearest mentioned another visit with cousin Bella but first she wants us to spend the rest of the morning under her watch."

"Great, more time with Mummy." She muttered angrily, throwing the Quaffle a little too roughly and hitting the top of her canopy.

He scoffed, "If you would just let us leave…" he muttered under his breath, "We'd never have to see her again."

Ursula sat up and threw the Quaffle at her brother. It made a thud as it hit against his chest, his arms going around it to catch it at the same time. He grimaced and glared back at her.

"You know why I'm stay. If you want to go that bloody bad, you can leave." She sniped.

He rolled his eyes and tossed the Quaffle between his hands, "And leave you to die or get turned into a Death Eater? I don't think so."

"So leave Reg to that fate?"

"He _wants_ that."

"I don't think he does," Ursula got up and snatched the Quaffle out of his hands.

Sirius shook his head, "He's lost Ursula." He said softly. "This whole life style is perfect for him. Do you see how happy he gets every time Bellatrix comes over to try to 'convince' us to join the Death Eaters? How he is Rudophus's shadow? He's one of them."

"He's our brother," Ursula tried to defend, knowing his argument was valid. "We have to at least try."

Sirius sighed at pushed himself away from his desk. "I'm going to go to my room. Talk to James would you? He's been bugging me for the last three days to talk to you."

"It's not my fault I could move my hand before this morning." Ursula muttered as she went through her trunk looking for the mirror that was her only connection to the outside world.

Sirius chuckled, "You did call her a dirty pixie with blood dirtier than Kreacher's smock. What the hell were you thinking?"

"That an attempted crucius curse was long over do."

He rolled his eyes but look at her in concern, "You know, one of these days you might not be able to dodge it. Even if manage that, try to avoid smashing your hand in the mirror."

"That'll be the day you actually catch Kreacher tripping you up the stairs. Come here," she motioned for him to walk closer. When he did, she waved her wand at his ankle and a bandage wrapped itself around his foot. "Maybe conjure up some ice to put on it. The swelling should go down."

"I swear, that bloody elf has it out for me," he muttered as he walked out of her room to his own. Ursula looked out and made sure that he was safely in his room before she locked his door, only allowing him out and her in. Locking charms were a personal favorite of hers.

She walked back into her room and picked up the mirror. "James." She said looking into it.

There was a moment of pause before her face disappeared and James's face replaced it. Instantly, when he saw who it was, he smiled happily. "URSULA! See you can pick up a mirror again."

She rolled her eyes, "Shut up, James. Sirius said you were bugging him."

"He complains too much. I simply wanted to talk to my favorite lass." James teased. Then the smile slowly slipped off his face, "Sirius told me about what your cousin did to you. Why the hell are you still there?"

"You know why." She said shortly before changing the subject. "Now, what's the news about the War? We've only heard about stuff from my family and that isn't always reliable. I want to hear it from a legitimate source."

James looked uneasy. "What have you heard?"

"Bellatrix talks about killing someone's brother, Sirius stole one of Regulus's letters from his friend and it said that three Slytherins two years ahead of us have already been 'marked' whatever the hell that means," she muttered the end. "And there was something about Ben."

"Bellatrix probably did kill someone," James confirmed with a grim and angry expression on his face. "Alice's older brother and his own family were murdered this past weekend. Alice wasn't there, thank God, but she's still with her family. And what they mean by marked is Death Eaters are getting the Dark Mark tattooed on their left arm, just like Avery's was."

Ursula nodded, taking in the news. "What about Ben?"

"He cursed a muggle," James admitted. "His dad is actually talking to my dad right now. But we can't do anything about that. What we can do something about is the news you're getting on that side. Have you heard anything?"

"This isn't from Voldemort himself but I heard Lucius Malfoy speaking to Regulus about a new policy being enacted once Voldie gets a little more power. They want to force all wizards to go in front of a court of sorts and prove their magical lineage." She reported though he mind was still in mild shock after hearing of her sort of ex-boyfriend's predicament.

James's jaw dropped, "That's impossible! No one would ever go for that!"

"Fear can make people do terrible things, James. If he could convince enough people, it might happen." Ursula said sadly.

"But that would mean Elyse…."

Ursula nodded, "I thought about that. And I think I have an idea. Muggleborns are just decedents of squibs right?"

James shrugged, "Yeah, so? I personally know of three on my father's side and I heard a rumor that there's another squib Weasley. It would be impossible to try to track down who Elyse's family is related to since it usually takes more than three generations for the magical gene to reappear. We could try to pass her off as a distant relative of my mom's. I'll teach her my entire family tree if I have to."

"But for Elyse to be a seer!" Ursula cut him off, speaking rapidly. "James, that's even rarer than a metamorphmagus to show up randomly in any sort of family! There are only a few families that have ever shown that ability in all of the History of Magic. All we have to do is track down which one it is and prove that the squib is related to Elyse and she's home free."

Throughout her entire reasoning, the smile on his face grew larger and larger, "I knew there was a reason I'm friends with you! I'll get started looking through some of the genealogy books my parents have. Have you started looking through any of the ones at your house?"

Ursula nodded, "But it doesn't pan out. All family trees and books block out any descendents of squibs. All squibs aren't even named in some of the books, just blank spots."

"I'm going to visit her with the rest of the guys later today. I'll ask her about her family when I get the chance."

She was silent for a moment before asking, "You're going to go visit Elyse?"

James nodded, "Moony, Wormtail, and are being apparated there by Moony's parents. I'm leaving as soon as Minister White leaves."

"Why didn't anyone else tell us about the visit?"

He simply rolled his eyes, "If you were _here_, you could be going right now."

"You're as bad as Sirius." She grumbled annoyed.

"Maybe if you would listen to us, then we wouldn't be like this! You need to leave that place and get to my house before you end up missing or in a casket." James said angrily.

This time, she was the one that rolled her eyes, "You act like I'm sharing a room with Voldemort. I'll be fine trust—" She cut off suddenly and turned to look at her door.

"What?" James asked sounding worried and concerned (though he would never admit it) as he tried to look around the mirror to see what was wrong.

"Regulus just left his room. I have to go talk to him," she explained as she started to put the mirror down.

"No! Wait a second! You uncle—" his voice ended as she put the mirror face down on her desk.

She ran out into the hallway and looked to catch the bottom of Regulus's robes disappear around the corner. She chased after him, checking around the corners to make sure neither of her parents were there, before grabbed Regulus by the shoulder and pulling him into the first room she could once she caught up to him.

"What the hell?" He grumbled, rubbing his shoulder.

"Regulus, I need you to listen to me," she began. Regulus, sensing what this was about cut her off.

"No, you need to listen to _me_." He said forcefully. "You're going to try to convince me to run away with you and Sirius. Oh, don't look so surprised, only an idiot wouldn't notice. But before you do, look around for a minute."

It was then that Ursula realized what room she had pulled him into. Faces of her ancestors stared back disapprovingly at her, severe expressions on their faces. Reg pulled her farther down the tree, passing over faces of more recent relatives, some Ursula knew. Then she saw what Regulus wanted her to see; her own. It was a horrible representation of her. Her eyes were unsmiling and she looked far too much like Bellatrix for her liking.

"You are part of one of the strongest and purest families known to all of wizard kind. Your magic by default is more powerful than even your friend Potter's without you even trying. Throughout generations we have achieved the perfect blood line and you just don't care. Do you realize what you are about to throw away?" He questioned her. "You would never be able to come back. You and Sirius will be disgraced, disowned, and abandoned. If you stayed, you would have power, money, safety, respect, everything you could ever want. Are the mudbloods worth it?"

She glared at him, "A million times over," she answered.

"Then you are a fool." He shook his head condescendingly. "You are giving up what thousands would die for."

"I'm giving it up so thousands won't die because of it." She shot back. "I'm going to be fighting in this war, Regulus. And so will you, even if you don't realize it yet. But you have a choice on which side you'll be on. Right now, just say that word and we'll leave right now."

"Why in Merlin's name would I give this up?" Regulus scoffed and turned to leave.

"Remember Olivia Carmichael?"

The reaction was instantaneous. He froze midstep and looked over his shoulder at his older sister in shock. "Who told you about her?"

"No one, I was walking around the library when I saw you two being all nice and cozy. You do know she's a halfblood right? Imagine what will happen to her in this War when Death Eaters find her and her family," she taunted, knowing she was touching a nerve.

He didn't react at all, just standing perfectly still, glaring at Ursula with the utmost hatred for finding out his secret. Deciding to keep pushing, Ursula continued, "You care about that girl, you can't deny that. You try to keep it a secret but I've watched. I've seen you staring at her at dinner across the hall. So if you truly believe in all this pureblood crap Mother and Father have shoved down your throat, why the hell are you dating a halfblood?"

"At least I'm not getting dumped by the Minister's son!" Regulus shot back, his face flushed with rage. "Yeah, you thought you two were being so bloody sneaky but everyone in the school knows he dumped you after his sister died. I wonder why? Was he so distraught with grief?"

"Stop it," Ursula demanded in a whisper. It felt like her throat had closed up and she could barely breathe. Tears stung her eyes and she swallowed painfully.

Regulus smirked cruelly, "Or maybe he just needed some time to himself."

"Stop." Her voiced was stronger but filled with repressed emotion.

"Some say that he just simply got tired of you."

"Regulus, I swear…"

That just seemed to encourage him more. A twisted and sinister smirk contorted her brother's smile.

"Or maybe….oh this is my favorite one." He leaned in close to her face, "Maybe he blames you."

A resounding crack echoed around the room. He jumped back; a vibrant red handprint was clear on his cheek. Ursula stared at him without remorse. He brought his hand up and winced when his hand made contact with the injury.

"Let me make myself clear," Ursula said blunt and cold voice, "when I leave this hell hole you better be as sure as hell in your decision to stay. In a few years we are both going to be out there and not think I will hesitate fighting against you. But also know this, if you ever want out, if the brother I know and loves ever comes back, my door will always be open for him, no matter what he has tattooed on his arm. Just remember that; you have a choice."

He didn't say anything, just simply staring at her eyes. Her steely grey eyes met his slightly bluer ones, slightly battling their strength of will. Eventually, it was Regulus who turned away first. Without a word, he disappeared from the room, leaving Ursula alone.

Her hand smarted painfully from the force of the hit. Numbly, she lifted her hand to look at it, in shock that she had hurt her brother that way. She had sworn long ago, as the oldest Black child, she would protect her brothers from everything and anything. What shocked her the most, however, was the fact she didn't feel remorse. She was just numb.

Sirius was anything but numb. He was furious, edgy, irate, agitated….the list went on and on. He was trapped in this hell hole of a house while his sister tried to convince their twat for a brother to run away with them. As much as he loved his twin, she was being to get on his last nerve. Every day, at least one of the twins gained a new burn, cut, scar, bruise from 'talks' with various family members.

It wasn't natural for him to be trapped. He wanted out. He wanted to get on his broom and fly with James and Elyse. He wanted to have an epic chess tournament with Remus. Hell, he even missed mousy Peter, if for the fact he always provided good entertainment with his stuttering. He didn't care to think about the former seventh member of their group.

He was a caged animal, trapped in a hated place, just waiting for the one slip up from the cruel caretakers. That opportunity came in the form of a noise. More specifically, it was the noise of someone being hit. Grabbing the communication mirror and his wand, he opened his door and froze when he saw Ursula's door open and no Ursula inside.

Determination and anger rushed through his veins as he ran down the stairs. In what would later be determined as the worst/best luck, Sirius ran into none other than his beloved mother.

"Scorn of this house!" She screeched at him as he pushed past. "You ungrateful waste of life!

Sirius froze on the landing and slowly turned to face Walburga. Her face was horribly scrunched as if she smelled something horrible. "At least you aren't as much of a shame as your unwanted twin."

With that, something inside of Sirius snapped. "Don't you dare speak of my sister." He whipped out his wand and cursed her with the first spell that came to mind. She deflected it easily, her nostrils flaring in fury. Sirius half expected her to start breathing fire.

She didn't speak as she sent curse after curse at him silently. Knowing that he was in no position to defend himself at the landing between floors, Sirius turned and ran down the flight of stairs, running past Ursula as she stepped out of the family tapestry room. Before she could even look properly surprised at his frantic state, he yanked her to the ground just as a spell flew over her head.

"What the hell did you do?!" She shouted at him as they ran towards the fireplace.

"Why is it always my fault?" He asked, exasperated and slightly amused despite the situation.

She rolled her eyes but continued running, yelping when she was hit with a stinging hex and tumbled to the ground. Sirius came to a skidding halt, just feet from their escape, but she waved him on.

"I'll be right behind you!" She shouted over their mother's screaming as she cursed them and screamed things mothers should never even think about their children.

Ursula just got to her feet when Sirius stepped into the fireplace. It didn't matter that all their worldly possessions were still in their rooms. They both had to get out of there as soon as possible.

The fireplace was green and ready to go, shouting, "Number 5 Godric Lane!" But the exact opposite of what they expected to happen happened. Sirius was launched out of the fireplace, soaring across the room, right at the feet of his father. Orion tried to grab him but Sirius scrambled away as Ursula was now dueling with their mother. Regulus was notably just standing in the doorway, doing absolutely nothing.

Sirius grabbed the mirror from his pocket and shouted, "JAMES! Bloody hell, where are you?! The floo's blocked!"

At that moment his heart stopped. A blood curling scream was seared in his memory. It appeared that Sirius's fear from earlier wasn't without reason. Ursula hadn't been able to move fast enough. Their mother's aim was fast enough as she cursed her daughter with one of the unforgivable curses; the crucius curse.

"I GAVE YOU LIFE! YOU UNGRATFUL WASTE OF A CHILD! I ONLY WANTED YOUR BROTHERS YET I HAD TO BE STUCK WITH A BLOODY UNWANTED THORN IN MY SIDE! I WISH I GOT RID OF YOU WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE!" Walburga screeched at Ursula as she lay on the ground, twitching and screaming in inconceivable pain.

Sirius didn't hear James's reply. He saw red as he pointed his wand in his mother's direction, "Confringo!"

While Walburga simply defected the curse, it had the effect that Sirius wanted. It broke her concentration, releasing Ursula from the unforgivable. Ursula slumped to the ground, her breathing labored and choked sobbing causing her chest to rise and fall rapidly as she lay facedown.

Sirius however, was blasting curse after curse at the woman who just happened to give birth to him; she was never his mother. That titled was reserved for a kind hearted woman living in Godric's Hollow.

"You've made my life hell!" He screamed, his anger consuming him as he dueled both of his parents, mainly his mother though. "I am not a damn Black! So blast me off your bloody tree! I hope you all burn in hell!" With a final curse, he petrified both of them. He looked down at his parents' still forms and raised his wand, their eyes following his every move.

"I know the curse, you're the one that taught it to me," Sirius sneered. "Bellatrix mentioned last week that you have to mean it; does it look like I bloody mean it?" The fear in their eyes was answer enough. "But I won't because I'm not you." He spat at them and turned around to go kneel next to Ursula.

"Can you stand?" He asked her gently, his hand gently resting on her shoulder.

She nodded, grimacing as she tried to get to her feet. Sirius offered his hand to help her up but she refused the help. Once she was on her feet, she had barely taken a step when she swayed on her feet and almost crashed back to the floor if it weren't for Sirius reaching out and grabbing her. He wrapped her arm around his shoulders, taking most of her weight.

"Room," she gasped through the pain in her ribs.

He simply nodded and rushed the two up the flights of stairs up to his room. He had no idea how long his spell would last on his parents. Once in his room, he placed Ursula on the bed before going to lock the door.

"No need. Already locked." Ursula said weakly.

"What did you do?" He questioned.

She smiled, grimacing as it pulled on a newly reopened cut on her lip, "Locks are my specialty. Only you or I can get in or out."

"Are you sure?"

Ursula gave him a look, incredulous that he could doubt her claim. He just shrugged, paranoid and slightly annoyed at once again he was trapped in his room. "We have to get out of here." Sirius admitted desperately. "I don't care if I have to climb through the window. I have to get out."

"We will. We just need to figure out what was blocking the floo. Until then, we are safe here."

About twenty minutes later, a muffled voice echoed from Sirius's pocket and from the window. "Sirius!"

Sirius pulled out the mirror and saw James's face in the mirror. "I'm at your house but I can't even get past the front walk. Every time I get too close I get thrown back. It's some sort of shield. Are you two alright?"

Sirius looked at Ursula lying on the bed, trying to calmly breathe through the pain. Now that the adrenaline started to wear off, a new burn from the stinging hex he hadn't even realized he had been hit with was causing pain in his left shoulder.

"We're alive," Sirius said, knowing that even he couldn't stretch the claim that they were alright.

With his free hand, James ran his fingers through his hair and glared at something to the side of the mirror. After a moment of muttering to himself, he looked back at the mirror, "Are you at least safe?"

Sirius nodded while Ursula answered from her position on the bed, "We are barricaded in Sirius's room."

James nodded appreciatively, "With your locking skill, you guys are safe," he complimented her. "I'm going to head back to my house and get my parents to work on getting your floo back in order so we can come get you. Keep me updated if anything changes," he ordered.

"Got it," Sirius nodded.

James was silent a moment before saying softly, "Stay safe Padfoot, Muse. I don't want you two hurt." With that, he cut the connection and the twins were all alone.

They waited until they were sure the rest of the family was asleep before they risked leaving the room. They heard when their parents regained their ability to move and after a few tense minutes of Walburga trying everything to get into one of the twin's rooms, the rest of the family ignored their presence. There were two blasts they heard from the first floor but that was it.

During that time, they planned. James had informed them around eight that night that his parents hadn't been able to break the barriers that surrounded Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Mr. Potter had even tried apparating but that too was impossible. The magic was strong too; it seemed that Ursula inherited her locking skill from at least one of her parents.

So they plotted on how to survive. Once everyone was asleep, Sirius would sneak across to Ursula's room and gather all her school stuff while Ursula snuck down to the kitchen to get food and water; enough to last them a day.

The only sound in the house as Ursula made her way down the stairs was her own heart beating frantically in her chest. At any second, she expected to stumble across Kreacher, the elf that hated her entire existence. When the last stair creaked, Ursula was sure that she had been caught. But nothing happened. Breathing a sigh of relief, she continued to walk into the kitchen.

She put a jug of water on the counter and began searching for bread in the cabinets. The only food she wanted was nonperishable and able to sustain her and her brother for an unknown period of time.

"You're running away aren't you?" a soft tenor voiced asked from somewhere in the darkness.

Ursula yelped and jumped back, brandishing her wand towards the figure sitting at the kitchen table, shrouded in darkness. Then she realized that she recognized the voice. "Father?" She asked her voice softer and more childish than she wanted.

He nodded and with a snap of his fingers, the kitchen was lightly lit. "I'm so sorry Ursula." He said looking at her sadly. "For everything. But you have to understand—"

"Understand what?" She shot back, thinking of all the times she suffered at his hands, or technically lack of action. "Understand all the abuse and hate I've had to endure since I was a child?"

He flinched at her tone but nodded, "I know you hate me and I cannot deny that you are justified in feeling that way. Just listen to me and maybe you will be able to accept all that has happened under this roof. I am not proud of what has happened but I beg you, just listen.

"When Walburga and mine's first child was born, we weren't expecting you. We were expecting Sirius and only him. But when I first held you, I loved you, Ursula. You were my Little Bear. But then you got older. You always tried to be just like us but I saw it in your eyes; you were trying to live a lie. I knew that early on that you and your brother weren't the children that Walburga and I wanted. I was so adamant to keep the perfect family together, it also didn't help that I grew up the exact way you did.

"Yes, I was exactly like you when I was younger. I questioned everything and fought every tradition my parents shoved down my throat. But I was weak. I didn't have the courage you and your brother have. I conformed and accepted my fate and tried to force it upon you. For that I am truly sorry. There was one thing, however, that I swore I would change. I would keep you safe.

"That was much more difficult than I initially thought. Every time you or Sirius did something, it was horrible for you two. I saw both of you resent us more and more each year. It broke my heart but I needed you safe. I figured if I could push them far enough way, they could get out. Stupid, but that is what I thought I could do to save you. You mother made that easy for me to do. Whenever one of you did something wrong, she would punish you. I don't know if you remember the time you were caught outside with the muggles, but that beating the morning after was my fault. I defended you and spoke against your mother. You paid dearly for my mistake.

"From then on I swore to protect you and Sirius at all costs. After we sent you to Hogwarts, Walburga handed me the letter that stated Sirius made it into Gryffindor, I was shocked when I didn't read your name. But when I took a closer look at the paper, I noticed it was tampered with magic that erased your name from it. So I did what any father would do; I hid it from your mother. That summer, when you were both caught in muggle clothes, I must apologize for what happened to you. But you have to understand, I had to protect Sirius. I grabbed him not to stop him from helping you but to stop him from getting hurt as well. I knew that you would want him to be protected so that's what I did. And I am so sorry that I had to make that choice."

Ursula was silent, her mind reeling as it all connected in her head. His reasoning made perfect sense. Suddenly, her father wasn't the bad guy. He was the guy who had actually tried to help her. While the wound still hurt, she felt sorry for the man who raised her.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked softly.

The corner of his mouth quirked up slightly, "Because you have the courage to do something I never was able to do: run away. With the War, Walburga and I blocked all traveling in and out of this house; no one can get in and no one can get out…except in about fifteen minutes the wards will mysteriously malfunction. So run Ursula. Run and do all the brilliant things that I never could. Just remember, I love you. I love you and your brothers so much but neither will never know."

She wanted to say it—she wanted to so badly. He was offering her a path out; a place that was far away from here. But she couldn't say the words back to him. Orion nodded once and stood up. He slowly walked towards her and moved his arms as if he was going to hug her. Ursula didn't move back nor did she open her arms to accept the hug. As if knowing he would never get the chance to hug her again, he gathered her in his arms and kissed the top of her head in a fatherly manner, "I love you." He said once more before slipping a small box in her hand and letting her go before leaving.

Stunned at what had just happened, Ursula stood in the middle of the kitchen, holding onto the box. She opened it and saw an old gold key laying on a small pillow. Underneath was a note she picked up. It read,

_This is a key to your new Gringott's vault. It contains the inheritance you and Sirius were going to inherit upon my death._

_With love,_

_You father_

Her mind was flying through a thousand miles a minute. It was something inconceivable, impossible. For having a father she thought honestly hated her guts, he had done what she never thought he was even capable of thinking of. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she reached into her pocket and grabbed the mirror.

"Sirius."

It was only a second before her reflection altered slightly and her brother was looking back at her.

"What's wrong?" He immediately asked.

She shook her head, "Nothing. Grab our bags and meet me downstairs. I think I've found our way out."

There was one thing she needed to check before she left the house forever. Ursula walked into the room she had spoken to Regulus not even a day ago. In the dim light, she looked at the family tree, looking at all the relatives she no longer could claim as her own.

At the end where her name was her picture was gone, blasted off the family tree. A second burn was right under hers; Sirius's. She reached up and touched the charred material. Ursula Black was no longer a Black.

Sirius lightly tapped on the door, holding the two undetectable expansion bags that held all of their worldly belongings. "What's going on?"

"We got blasted off the tree," she commented lightly, sounding not at all bothered by that. And to be honest, she wasn't. She thought she would be but now she could see that she truly didn't belong here. She was meant to go other place, namely a cozy home in Godric's Hollow.

Sirius snorted, "Good riddance."

"Fire burns and right now the tree is scorched, how fast it will burn, no one knows," Ursula said softly as she once again touched the burn on the tree. She shook her head at her foolishness before walked out the room and guiding her brother towards the fireplace.

"Um, Ursula, this is blocked."

"Trust me?"

"With my life," he didn't even hesitate as he answered.

"Then go." She commanded.

Sirius threw the floo powder into the small fire heating the house. He grabbed a little bit more so he could leave but he turned to look worriedly at Ursula. She shook her head, "I'll be right behind you. Marauder's honor."

He smirked before nodding and disappearing after clearly saying James's address. Ursula jumped in just after him. She looked around the dingy and ugly living room and snorted, "Goodbye hell. Number 5 Godric's Lane," and disappeared in a flash of green. And for the first time in years, the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black was silent.

When Ursula tumbled out of the fireplace, she was greeted by Mrs. Potter who was smiling brilliantly at the girl. She gathered her into a tight, motherly hug. Mrs. Potter gently rubbed comforting circles on Ursula's back as she rocked them back and forth slightly.

"Welcome home, Dear."

Tears sprang to Ursula's eyes as he looked over at Mrs. Potter's shoulder at her brother getting a hug from Mr. Potter while James slept soundly on the sofa (Mrs. Potter would swear that boy could sleep through an earthquake).

"Home," she repeated trying to hold back the sob threatening to escape from her throat. She was _home_.

* * *

_I hope that I was able to correctly what I was trying to portray with Orion. It is mentioned that it seems like Orion was never completely into the Dark Arts stuff towards the end and he got real suspicious and that is why Grimmauld Place is so heavily protected. He was weary of it from the start. Also, he is the one with all the locks and shield spells, very much so like Ursula. Just a bit of father/daughter right there. I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think of this chapter- I would love to hear what you all think/have to say!_


	3. A Sirius Reaction

_So I hope that this chapter will shed a bit more light on what happened from someone else's point of view. This is definitely not the last summer chapter; there will be one or two more before they return back to Hogwarts where the fun will really begin. This one is a bit shorter than the other ones but I just had too many ideas that just didn't flow and I had to end it somewhere.  
_

_I wanted there to be more in this chapter but with a mild case of writer's block (too many ideas + too many directions = not able to figure out what to write), I figured it was best to split it up into two chapters so I can sort out my thoughts some more. I don't know how I feel about this. I might go back to fix it in a little bit but for now, I am content with it. I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

It had been exactly twelve hours since Sirius and his sister arrived at the Potters. After tumbling through the floo, they were quickly shuffled off to bed since they looked like they were dead on their feet according to Mrs. Potter. Sirius didn't remember much but he was almost positive that Mr. Potter had to practically drag him up the stairs while James carried Ursula up behind. The adrenaline wearing off and the knowledge of finally being safe was enough for both twins to fall asleep almost instantly.

When Sirius woke up, the sun was already past his windows and a quick glance at his clock said that it was already past noon. His eyes nearly fell out of his head. He didn't think he slept that long. An obnoxious snore from across the room startled him and almost caused him to fall off his bed. Sirius had become unaccustomed to hearing James's snoring.

Realizing that there was no way for him to fall back asleep, he tried to sit up only to gasp in pain. His shoulder felt like it was on fire and his entire left side was full of dull, thudding pain. He wrapped his good arm around his middle and struggled to sit up. With a flash of surprise, he didn't expect the cloth wrapped around his stomach and upper chest.

"What the hell," he muttered to himself as he tugged on the edge of the bandage. He pushed himself up and shuffled over to the wardrobe. He opened the door expecting to see a few robes and maybe a jumper and slacks. He was definitely _not_ expecting to see it full of all of his clothes be had in his trunk and even more clothes and shoes at the bottom. Carefully, Sirius dressed in a pair of jeans and a random cotton shirt before shuffling out of the hallway, ignoring the dull pain in his ankle.

At that moment in time, the stairs were his worst enemy. Forget his parents or Voldemort. These things were going to be the death of him. It was the smell of food emanating from the first floor that urged him forward. He tripped on the last step and swore loudly as he tried to keep his balance.

There was a clatter from the kitchen. Mrs. Potter came emerged from the room and was quickly at his side. "Are you alright Sirius? Your ribs were bruised last night and your ankle was twisted. I tried to heal it all but there is only so much I can do without you drinking potions." She explained as she put her hand on his good shoulder and guided him over to the couch.

He sat down gingerly, careful not to disturb any of his injuries. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

She snorted lightly, "I was a healer for longer than you've been alive, three times over. Now let me be the judge of that."

"I thought I was faster," He muttered bitterly as a cooling sensation canceled out the pain in his ankle and his side.

"What happened?" She asked softly as she worked on his injuries.

He shrugged, wincing at the sudden movement. "_She_ was throwing curses at me. We were on the stairs so I turned and ran down to the first floor. I thought I dodged everything. Guess I was wrong."

"I'm so sorry Sirius," Mrs. Potter said with remorse. "We should have come to get you both earlier this summer. No, you shouldn't have gone back to that place at all."

Sirius snorted, "Ursula never would have gone for that."

If it was possible, Mrs. Potter's expression darkened slightly, "Yes, I will have to talk to her about that," she muttered to herself. Her expression returned back to normal, "Is there anything else bothering you? I was only able to do so much last night."

"Nothing. I'm…" he trailed off when he saw the look she was giving him.

"Sirius. I'm James mother. You have to at least _try_ to lie better than that."

He smirked at the thought of all the things James had tried to get past his mother all those years and knowing that he almost always failed. He moved his shoulder a little bit, "A stinger to the shoulder is the only thing I can feel."

As soon as he mentioned it, she was instantly working on it and the pain dissipated faster than Sirius thought possible. He sighed in contentment when she finished and leaned back against the sofa. "Thanks, Mrs. Potter."

"Eva, please. You are living in my house. You will not call me Mrs. Potter, Sirius." She said in her trademark motherly voice. Sirius smiled at the tone. It was something he never heard; care and affection. He usually just got loathing and disappointment. He nodded, accepting her request.

Just then, a timer went off from the kitchen and Mrs. Potter got to her feet and went to the kitchen, Sirius trailing behind her. She walked over to the counter and put a tray of something into the oven and reset the timer.

"What's for breakfast?" Sirius asked, sniffing the air trying to identify the food.

"I'm making your favorite, French toast with apple flavoring along with scrambled eggs and freshly squeezed orange juice," she motioned towards oranges squeezing themselves into a bowl while eggs were cracking themselves into a giant mixing bowl.

He was flabbergasted by the amount of effort she put into breakfast, "Mrs. P—Eva," he corrected, "This is too much. You don't need to do this."

She smiled kindly at him, love and acceptance in her eyes, "Of course I did. It's not every day my son comes home."

It was too much in his head. Hearing her say it, it began to sink in. He was out. He was free forever from his mother's tyrannical rule, his father's passiveness, and his brother's simmering hate. His head started pounding as the gravity of what had really happened settled in his mind.

"How did you know what my favorite breakfast is?" He asked numbly. It was the only thing he seemed capable of questioning. Nothing else was comprehensible for him.

Mrs. Potter laughed and said, "A mother knows her son Sirius." She put her hand out and patted him on the cheek affectionately but his body seemed to still think he was at Grimmauld Place. He cursed himself mentally when he flinched. Mrs. Potter put her hand down and took a step back, sadness filling her usually vibrant hazel eyes. She tried to smile at him but she looked so heartbroken that Sirius had to look away, disgusted with himself for reacting that way.

"I'm going to go for a walk," he muttered, feeling the walls close in around him.

Before Mrs. Potter could object, he was out the back door and walking around the house to get to the sidewalk. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked through the town. It was against his nature to be contained and after spending all that time trapped in a house he hated, he was itching to be able to roam and actually do something.

Since the only times he had been in Godric's Hallow had been spent with James showing him around, he got lost quite quickly. But it wasn't that he noticed. Lost in his own world, Sirius simply tried to walk his anger and frustration out. If he knew it wouldn't bust up his ankle more (and subsequently get yelled at by Mrs. Potter) he would have started running.

It was also that since it was mid morning in the middle of summer, a lot of families were out and about, forcing him not to be able to run. He found himself at the muggle park James took all of them to about two years ago. He sat down on a park bench since all the swings were taken by small children. But that didn't matter to him. He just leaned his head back and let his sun deprived skin soak in the warm rays.

As he sat there, his mind began to wander. His first thought instantly went to his sister. She had kept him at the God forsaken house for far too long, angering him. If she just had a shred of common sense or care about the right people, nothing would be wrong. But no. She had to be bloody stupid and stay there to try to 'rescue Regulus' from the Death Eaters. Sirius snorted at the thought. McGonagall was more likely to admit that she was in love with Filch than Regulus being saved from something he wanted to join. Out of frustration, he kicked the woodchips at his feet in frustration. Stupid sister who thinks she knows everything.

"Come back Elyse!" A small child giggled from across the playground.

Sirius's eyes flew open and he frantically looked for the familiar red head but just saw a young boy and girl running around, calling each other Elyse and Tyler. His heart sank when he didn't see his beloved friend. Knowing that his thinking was wrong on a few different levels but not sure why he knew that, he missed Elyse _slightly_ more than he missed the rest of his friends, besides James that is.

However, a shock of bright red hair caught his attention and his started pounding furiously in his chest. It was not a nervous, petty raise of his heart beat. No, this was his anger doubling with each passing second, adrenaline and hatred filling his veins as he prepared to fight.

Walking with his head down and hands in his pockets was none other than Benjamin White. Sirius forgot that Ben had grown up in Godric's Hollow with his parents before going to live with his sister second year. Godric's Hollow was always James's home; not Ben's. Sirius started to get up to go confront the teenager who Sirius had once considered a friend but when he got a second look at Ben, he froze.

Ben was much thinner than he had been before. His clothes were hanging off of him and his legs were knobbier and skinnier than James's. His hair was unkept and it looked like he hadn't brushed it in days. There were a few cuts and one bad shiner he was sporting on his left eye. One of his hands left his pocket and ran through his hair, revealing bruised and bloody knuckles. Ben had been fighting.

To avoid running into a group of children playing hopscotch, Ben looked over towards the other sidewalk, just past where Sirius was sitting, letting Sirius see the dark bags around Ben's tortured eyes. He looked broken.

It would be like kicking a puppy, Sirius decided. No matter how annoyed he was with Ursula at that moment, he still loved her and he knew a part of her still cared for Ben and he couldn't hurt her like that. He got up and quickly made his way back to where he came from hoping that Ben wouldn't run into him. Sirius may have been above starting a fight but he was in no means the mood to stop if confronted.

It was easy getting back to the Potter's house now that he had a reference point. He followed the exact same path that James had led them all those years ago. He walked into the house without a second's hesitation, already feeling at home.

James was sitting in the living room looking like he had just rolled out of bed, not wearing a shirt since it was hot, the Marauder's Map resting on the coffee table in front of him while he had his nose buried in a thick text book.

"Wow Prongs, you look like you belong in one of Moony's wet dreams," Sirius commented nonchalantly as he walked in.

"I _am_ a sexy beast." James smirked arrogantly as he looked up from his book. He set it down and pushed his glasses to the top of his head while he rubbed his eyes. "Goddamn you Blacks. You've kept me from my beauty sleep."

"Shove it Prongs. Would you rather I still be trapped in Hell?"

"Eh, with that attitude…" James trailed off teasingly but Sirius saw the tightness of his forced smile. It was exceedingly obvious that this ordeal had affected more than just the twins.

Sirius cleared his throat and asked, "What are you doing?"

James's eyes immediately brightened at the change of subject and he excitedly picked up the book and map again, "I'm brilliant Padfoot! I've figured out a way to get the paper to talk."

Sirius cocked an eyebrow, "Make the paper _talk_? I think you've taken on too many Quaffles to the head, Prongsie."

"No it's brilliant! Maybe a bit past your level of thinking but I'm sure you'll be able to get it. The idea came to me when Mum found the Map and tried to figure out what it was. It was blank, thank Merlin, but she told it to reveal its secrets and that got me thinking. What if we made people _think_ it was revealing its secrets. The paper would come to life anytime someone tried to open it without the password and we could insult them or give them clues depending on if we liked the person or not."

Sirius shook his head in awe of James's genius, "But how would the paper know who we want to know how to open the map or not?"

"It's a simple spell. Well, simple for me that is. Here. Let's see if it worked." He handed Sirius the paper.

Sirius grabbed his wand from his pocket and said, "Reveal your secrets."

Instantly, words started appearing on the paper about halfway down the paper.

___Messrs_. Prongs would like to inform _Messrs_. Padfoot he should be more impressed with _Messrs_. Prongs's genius.

Sirius looked at the paper in shock and laughed to himself. Just when he thought that James couldn't surprise him anymore. "That's brilliant mate. Why's it showing up halfway down though?"

James shrugged, "I think it knows that the others are going to be added later and it's making room for the rest of the Marauders. Too bad there'll be an empty space for King forever. I'll have to see if I can get around that. I'm more than intelligent enough to figure it out."

A thought hit Sirius as he watched James flip through pages of the impossible looking book. "How's the animagus thing going for you? Still just antler boy?"

"Shut it snout nose," James shot back, his entire frame tensing. "I haven't been able to transform completely yet and we only have until Christmas of this year and Ursula's already been able to bloody do this for months! I'm the better one at Transfiguration! I should have been first!"

Sirius held his hands up in surrender "Don't shoot the messenger. I was just wondering. I haven't managed it yet either."

"But I should have. I've been the first for everything else in this process; the patronus, the potion, the partial transformations! I should have been the first one but I can't even get anything past my hands and feet transforming into hooves while I grow antler from my head. It's bloody infuriating that Muse is already mastering the transformation while the rest of us are barely going to make the deadline." James grumbled angrily to himself more than to Sirius.

"Someone's jealous," Sirius said in a sing-song voice.

Without even looking, James whipped a pillow at Sirius's head, hitting him dead on knocking him off the arm of the sofa he was sitting on. Sirius crashed to the ground, muttering something about ungrateful prats for friends.

"Aw suck it up Paddy. If you wanted a pity party, you should have run away to Remus's."

"BOYS, BREAKFAST!" Mrs. Potter shouted from the kitchen. James stood and offered his hand to Sirius. The boys walked into the kitchen and their mouths began salivating at the smell alone.

"Mum, have I told you that you are the best bloody mother in the entire world?" James said as he reached to grab a piece of French toast. His hand was smacked away with a spatula.

"Not recently but I still love hearing it. James, go get your father, he's out in the shed, and Sirius, go get Ursula, she's in the upstairs library."

Sirius found her trying to carry a heavy genealogy book with only one arm since her other was in a sling.

"What happened to your arm?" He asked her, taking the book from her and putting it on the table all the while not looking at her. He felt sorry that she was hurt but that was canceled out since he was angry she put herself into that situation and by extension, himself.

"When Lucius hexed me and I crashed into the wall the fracture in elbow didn't heal properly. Eva had to re-break it and re-heal it. I can't use it for two days."

"Too bad," Sirius said monotonously. "Breakfast is ready."

He turned on his heel and started walking out before a hand grabbed his elbow. "Sirius, I already got a lecture from Eva about what I did. I don't need this from you too."

"From me too?! Ursula, you don't realize what you did! I almost died! This isn't one of your little oops mistakes were you tried to give Regulus the benefit of the doubt— we were almost killed because of this!"

"You don't think I know that!? I hate to remind you Sirius but I was hurt too," she spat back.

He rolled his eyes, "But you wanted to be there. I didn't have a choice and that's why I got hurt. That's why it matters." He said so seriously that he almost didn't recognize his voice.

Ursula knowing that she was in the wrong in this situation nodded. She smiled apologetically at Sirius and while it wasn't fixed, it was mostly forgiven. They had never been able to stay furious at each other for a long period of time. Angry and disappointed; they could go for months but they never let that affect their relationship as a whole. They were twins and now they were all each other had of their family. As long as they didn't discuss what happened in Grimmauld Place, it would one day be perfectly fine.

A thought from earlier hit Sirius as they were walking down the stairs, "Sissy, there's something you need to know about Godric's Hollow."

"What?" She asked, worried at the tone of his voice.

"Ben's living with his parents again."

And that was all it took for her world to completely shatter.


	4. The Black Cloud of Death

_Hola everyone! I'm going to keep this brief since there is kind of a long author's note at the end of this that I think you should read. _

_All I'm going to say is that there is some underage drinking in this chapter but that's why it's rated T. You have been warned._

* * *

When Remus awoke on a stormy Saturday morning, he honestly expected it to be a horrible day. The weather was stifling hot, there was dense fog everywhere, and it didn't help that it was a full moon either.

He was not expecting to see a familiar owl, Thalia, sitting on his window sill. He ran to the window and ushered the bird inside. She flew in circles around his head and dropped the letter on his floor. He picked it up and proceeded to feed Thalia a treat.

The letter was short and simple but it lifted the weight that had settled on his shoulders all summer. It was from Sirius basically saying that they were out of Grimmauld and they were with the Potters. They were a bit banged up but it was nothing serious. He penned a response and just let Thalia out of his window to return the letter when another owl flew in.

It dropped the Prophet on his bed and looked at him, demanding payment. Slightly annoyed at all the owls, he quickly paid the bird before it attacked. Since it was Saturday, the last page of the paper was dedicated to listing the dead and missing from that week. It did him no good but he forced himself to read the list every week to reassure himself. He figured that if anything happened to any of his friends, he would know about it or get proof that it happened. News was terribly unreliable but the list of the dead and missing was the only thing that the Prophet always told the complete truth on.

As he scanned the names, his stomach clenched when he recognized last names of classmates, spouses or parents of current and past students he knew, adults (he was horrified two weeks ago to see that Professor Katsopolis and his family had been listed) and the occasional muggle family he knew.

This week's list seemed to be almost clear until one name popped up at the bottom, the most recent death, and he froze in shock and horror. It wasn't….no...

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, Elyse O'Brian was sitting at the base of the hill near her house with her arms wrapped around Pat. He had surprised her this morning when he threw small rocks at her window. Elyse was about ready to curse him to next week when he held up the blanket and pointed to the east, more specifically where the sun hadn't risen yet. It was incredibly romantic and Elyse nearly swooned right out of her second floor window when he flashed that adorable and (to her at least) drop dead sexy smile.

The sunrise was beautiful and calming but for some reason Elyse couldn't shake the feeling that something wrong had happened. She got a quick flash of a gravestone that caused a shiver to go straight down her spine. Pat took it as she was shivering from the slight chill that morning and placed his arm around her. She melted into his embraced and tried to calm down. Since then they just laid there and watched the clouds roll by.

Then out of nowhere Pat asked, "Woot's 'hat?"

The owl swooped down low enough to drop the paper right onto Elyse's lap. She quickly flipped it to the back, ignoring Pat's yelp when he saw the moving pictures on the cover. She scanned the list of the dead and missing, getting more and worried by the second as she recognized a few of the names from school. But it wasn't like the horrified feeling she felt when she got to the last and most recent name.

Without an explanation, she scrambled to her feet and ran back to her house. She ignored Pat's shouts behind her as he tried to catch up with her to figure out what was wrong. She slammed the kitchen door open, scaring her mother half to death.

"Elyse! Woot's wrong?!" Mrs. O'Brian asked, knowing that something had to be terribly wrong.

"I've ter get ter Godric's Hallow," she said before running up the stairs and got ready to pack. They needed her right now.

* * *

James didn't know what woke him up that early. The clock next to him ready 5 a.m. He groaned and tried to get back to sleep but when he heard the murmur of voices, his curiosity was peaked. He looked over to Sirius who was snoring softly in his sleep, not at all talking as he was occasionally known to do. That left only one option. Someone was downstairs.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his invisibility cloak and threw it over himself to go investigate who or what was downstairs.

There were certain advantages of having an invisibility cloak. Going anywhere, seeing anything, listening to everything; it was a trouble makers dream. More than once James was sure that his parents rued the day they gave him the family heirloom. The cloak was ridiculously perfect. It never tattered no matter how many times it should have snagged on something. It also never faded. James never thought that it would let him down.

His bare feet padded softly across the soft carpet of his room until he came to his door. He slowly turned the doorknob, praying that the squeak it sometimes made wouldn't give him away. Apparently, someone was on his side since it made no noise.

The hallway was completely empty. Ursula's room was closed and James would bet his entire inheritance that it was locked. The only thing that was odd was his parents' door was open. He looked to his left and saw a soft glow coming from the living room. He climbed down the stairs and the voices became clearer and clearer as he got closer to the landing.

"—late notice," the stranger said.

James tiptoed to the landing and peered around the corner and almost fell over in shock. Standing in the doorway was none other than Jay White.

"It's alright Jay." Mrs. Potter said. "From what the message said, something bad has happened." That certainly caught James's attention and he moved the rest of the way into the living room, making sure he was far enough away so they wouldn't run into him but at the same time, close enough so he could hear them.

Mr. White sighed and motioned towards the sofa, "You might want to be sitting for this."

"Jay, we've been expecting this for a long time," Mr. Potter muttered, his voice gravely and sad.

Mrs. Potter shook her head and wiped away a tear that slipped from her eye. James's breath caught in his throat. His mother never cried. The last time he saw her cry was when her friend from Hogwarts passed away almost seven years ago.

"We've been expecting this but we didn't think it would happen so soon. I don't even think the twins know yet," she said through her tears.

Mr. White shook his head sadly, "I just checked at the Ministry. Five years ago he changed his will. Sirius and Ursula are getting everything to evenly split. Alphard even wrote into the will that whatever money he was set to inherit goes to the twins."

James's jaw dropped. He knew that Alphard was ill but he didn't know that he was ill enough that he was on his death bed. Even though the twins had been there for almost a week now, none of the Potters mentioned to either of them the state of their uncle. Now it was too late.

"Alphard also left something else in his will. He didn't leave it to either of the twins or his sister. Not to any of his relatives actually," Mr. White continued.

"What are you going on about?"

Mr. White sighed, "Al prepared for everything in case of his death. If the twins should run away, he arranged it so that they could live in either of his homes for the rest of their life with little worry. I understand that they are living here now. If you wish it, they could—"

Before either of his parents could answer, James threw the invisibility cloak off of himself and exclaimed, "They're staying here!"

All three adults jumped.

"James!" Mrs. Potter scolded, a hand pressed against her heart in shock and surprise.

He ignored his mother's scolding and glared at the Minister for Magic, "This is Ursula and Sirius's home. When they ran away, they didn't think to go to Alphard's house. They came here. This has been their home since they were eleven and there's no way in hell that I am letting them go live in some cold house by themselves."

His parents watched in horror as their son yelled at the most powerful man in the magical world. To their complete and utter surprise, Mr. White started to laugh after a moment, "Oh, James, my son was a fool when he discarded you as a friend. No, no, I know the twins have called this place home for many years. What I was going to suggest to your parents was if they wanted to, Alphard left them the right to sell the house or keep it. And if they sold it, they could even keep the money or give it to the twins. It was never a question if they were leaving."

James was momentarily silent, having no rebuttal or argument to make. Mr. White smiled kindly at him and turned back towards the elder Potters, "I must take my leave now. I suspect the Blacks will be awake soon and I highly doubt either of them would appreciate my presence."

"What do you mean?" James asked.

Mr. White chuckled, "I may have fathered a fool but I am not one myself." He then turned towards Mr. and Mrs. Potter, "Please let them know they have my condolences."

"We will Jay." Mr. Potter assured.

"And you have it as well. I may not have gone to school with you but I know you two were closer than brothers. Call me an ignorant youth but friendships like that don't just fade away with years. The way I saw you behaving you two might as well have been brothers. If you need anything, anything at all, I'll be there to help."

"Thank you, Jay," Mrs. Potter said as she gave Mr. White a hug.

After he was released, Mr. White nodded respectfully towards James and then shook hands with Mr. Potter before leaving. James just looked at his parents, an understanding exchanged between them all. James wanted to tell them. His parents would let him, if not only for that they didn't wish to explain the death of their dearly beloved friends to his presumable distraught relatives.

James walked up the stairs and carelessly tossed his cloak on the floor before walking over to Ursula's room, knowing that she would have the least unpredictable reaction. He knocked on the door.

When Ursula opened it, she already knew something was wrong. James _never_ knocked. "What is it?"

"We got news that you might want to sit down for," he prefaced.

She shook her head, "Just tell me James. Was it someone we knew."

James looked her steadily in the eyes, "Ursula, Alphard had been sick for a very long time. I'm sorry but he passed away last night."

Her face just about broke James's heart. It looked like someone had just ripped open her chest, taken her heart, and tore it apart bit by bit. Her face was drained of color, making her look even paler than she already was.

"How long was he sick?" She asked, horror gripping her as she thought about all the jibs her mother had made about her brother's health.

"For a couple months. It only got serious about a month ago." James told her. "I tried to tell you and your brother but something always pulled you away before I could say it. I'm sorry."

"I'll be in my room," she said quickly.

The door slammed shut in James's face before he could stop her. He heard the click of the lock and the repressed sobs from the other side. James rested his forehead against the door in frustration. He hit his fist against the door next to his head. This summer was supposed to be fun but all it was turning out to be was a complete nightmare. "Bloody hell," he muttered to himself. This was too difficult but he felt…responsible?...for them. He needed to be the one to tell Sirius.

He gathered himself together and walked back to his room and prepared himself to break the news to his closest friend.

As he expected, Sirius did not take the news well. He denied it at first and then shoved James into the wall when he saw that his friend wasn't joking. He collapsed on his bed after that and just like his sister, asked to be alone. James respected his wishes and left the room. He stood outside the door and waited to hear noise and he was surprised when he heard slightly hysterical laughter coming from the other side.

James should have received an award for not getting in trouble for over twelve hours when left to his own devices. He spent most of the day going over new Quidditch plays he wanted to test with Ursula and Elyse when the latter finally showed up. The rest of the day he spent trying to transfigure himself into a stag. By eleven o'clock that night, his parents were back home from finalizing some details and in bed, and he had yet to see either of the twins.

Since trying to transfigure himself had left him thirsty, James walked into the kitchen to get a drink only to see the cabinet he was rarely allowed into partially open. He walked over and saw two bottles of firewhiskey missing. He sighed, knowing where two of the bottles went, he grabbed his own and walked up the stairs.

He opened his door and saw Sirius lounging on his bed, his back resting against the wall, the bottle in his hand half empty. Sirius looked up with slightly glazed eyes and looked at him as if he didn't recognize him.

"What're you doin' here?" Sirius slurred.

James sat down on the opposite side of the bed and popped open his bottle. "If I know anything about getting drunk, you should never get drunk on your own." He took a swing of his bottle and smirked.

Sirius chuckled and held his bottle up as a toast. They clinked bottles and proceeded to each take another swing.

About an hour later, they were both completely pissed. James had somehow ended up on the floor and Sirius was laying on his stomach, half hanging off the bed, "And you know what the worst part is!?" Sirius shouted drunkenly. "all those bloody girls! I just wanna've fun and they're always doin something stupid and dumb," he whined before falling off the bed onto his back.

James didn't seem to noticed that Sirius was out cold now and joined in on the complaining, "Lily's stupid and dumb too! Turnin me down! It bloody hurts." He seemed to notice that Sirius was snoring. "You sister would listen to me," James shoved Sirius roughly, pushing him half under the bed.

James staggered to his feet and walked across the hallway as silently as he could, thinking that he could sneak past his parents. He didn't notice that they had magically sealed off the staircase so no one could fall down.

He opened the door to Ursula's room. It didn't register to him that it was extremely odd that it wasn't locked. He stumbled in and saw Ursula sitting at the foot of her bed staring sadly down at the half empty bottle of firewhiskey. Both of her hands were holding onto her locket, listing over and over again to the music playing inside.

James walked over and fell onto the bed next to her, "That music is so bloody loud," he groaned, covering his ears dramatically.

Ursula rolled her eyes and closed the locket for his sake. Then James scared the hell out of her when he suddenly jumped up and pointed an accusatory finger in her face, "You're makin yourself feel bad about yourself! Stupid girls! Why are girls so stupid?" He asked drunkenly in a high pitched voice.

"Boys're just as stupid," she slurred, trying to focus on his face.

"No we're not! We tell people when we have problems. Girls are all sneaky. All girls belong in Slytherin!" James decreed.

Ursula glared at him and tried to hit him but he just caught her hand. She tried to pull her arm free but he wouldn't let go. "Let go," she complained.

He just pulled her closer and whispered, "Why does Lily like breaking my heart?" he asked in a pathetically sad voice.

"I don't know James." She answered honestly, looking into his glazed over, yet beautiful hazel eyes. Beautiful? Ursula shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts but she couldn't look away from his eyes.

"Would you break my heart?"

He before she could answer, James pulled her forward and drunkenly smashed his lips against hers. Ursula jumped at the sudden contact and somewhere through the drunken haze, she realized that she was kissing James, but for a moment she forgot all about Ben. With the alcohol giving her extra courage, she gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him closer. James moved his hands to her sides and pulled her flush against his chest. His hands went to the back of her neck, angling her mouth so he could kiss her more deeply.

Then there was a loud crash from the other room when Sirius tried to climb out from under the bed that broke them out of their drunken haze simultaneously. They both blushed bright red. James ran his hand through his hair a few times nervously, "I'm gonna go." He said without looking her in the eye.

Without another word, he got off the bed and practically ran to his room.

Ursula fell against her bed and groaned. What the hell had just happened?

* * *

The funeral was an extremely private event two days later. Alphard only wanted Andromeda, Ursula, Sirius, and the Potters there.

Sirius, who had actually gone missing from the house for eight hours after finding out about his uncle's death, stared at the urn of ashes as the mortician handed to Mr. Potter. Alphard didn't want to be buried at the family cemetery. He had been very specific about his wishes in death, including the way he would be 'disposed of'.

He specifically asked to be cremated and have his ashes spread at the 'Real Black Lake'. No one understood that at the will reading the day before the funeral except for Mr. Potter. He explained that whenever Alphard was able to sneak out, he would send an owl to Mr. Potter and they would meet up at the lake behind in the forest behind the house in Godric's Hallow. As years went past, Alphard one time mused that that lake was the true Black Lake, not the one at Hogwarts. From then on, it was the Real Black Lake.

It was just the four of them standing around the edge of the lake, Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter, Ursula, and Sirius. James was waiting back at the house and Andromeda had to leave early because Nymphadora was feeling ill.

"Goodbye friend," Mr. Potter muttered before gently tossing the ashes into the lake.

Ursula went to reach for Sirius's hand but he moved his hands behind his back. Ursula flinched at the rejection but didn't say anything else as their uncle's ashes were spread. Once they were all gone and dispersed in the water, Mrs. Potter turned towards the twins. "We'll give you a moment. Just head back up to the house when you are ready."

She gave them a hug and a kiss on the cheek before walking hand and hand back home with her husband.

Sirius and Ursula stared at the water as the last of the ashes disappeared under the water.

"We didn't even get a chance to say goodbye," Ursula muttered mournfully.

Sirius snorted, "And whose fault is that?"

Ursula flinched and glared at her brother, "What the hell Sirius? I didn't kill Uncle Alphard!"

He never said those words but the implication was there. He glared at her but didn't say anything. Ursula sighed and reached into her bag for something. She played around with the bronze key.

"Listen, Sirius, the night we left I spoke to Dad and he said—"

Sirius, who had tried to be passive, glared scathingly at her, "Let me guess. He gave you some crap about loving us and wanted to protect us that entire time. Yeah, he tried to feed me the same bull shit."

She stared at him in shock. He then looked at the key and laughed sarcastically, "Oh don't tell me you listed long enough for him to give you the key!? He used that as last resort to try to get me to listen. I thought you were smarter than that."

"Sirius, the money he left us, along with the money Uncle Alphard left—"

"Don't you dare dirty Uncle Alphard's money by combining it _his_." Sirius hissed. "You can take all of that money you want. I don't want a knut of that."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked back towards the house. He heard voices coming from the house and took a deep breath to compose himself. He smirked when he saw his friends all solemnly gathered around the kitchen.

"Look at you depressing bastards," Sirius quipped as he stole a swing of firewhiskey from a bottle he hid back under the cupboard from the other night. "Let's go do something reckless."

James winced when he saw the bottle, remembering the hangover he woke up with the other day. Elyse rolled her eyes but pulled Sirius into a hug, "Come on, yeh big idiot. Yeh need ter 'elp us wit this wee trick fer teh Slytherins."

She guided Sirius into the living room and Peter dutifully followed. Remus hung back when he didn't see James moving to follow. James shook his head, "I'm going to wait for Ursula. I'll be in there in a moment."

Remus nodded and followed his friends into the other room.

James waited five more minutes before Ursula walked in through the door. She turned red when she saw James alone. She had been avoiding him ever since that night and James was tired of it.

"I just wanted to talk to you," James said, holding his hands up in surrender.

She nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"I just want to make sure everything is okay between the two of us after last night. Judging by your face you remember what happened."

"I wasn't that pissed," Ursula defended, the tips of her ears flaring up.

James chuckled, "You could have fooled me. I would say that I apologize for snogging you but I have to admit that I've thought about it before. I just want to know one thing."

"What?" She asked, itching to be anywhere but there.

"How good of a snog was I?" James asked with a cocky smirk. He laughed when Ursula somehow managed to turn even redder. "Pretty damn good judging by that face."

"Stuff it," she said glaring at him.

He chuckled and took one of her hands, "Listen, I know we are friends but there was something in the back of our minds that at least considered it. A relationship I mean. I know it won't be permanent and our hearts belong to other people."

"James, you can't be—"

"Who can say no to this handsome face? I mean look at me! I'm the best looking bloke at Hogwarts!"

Ursula laughed and removed her hand, "I'm sorry James. Not now."

"Eh, maybe later. I'll accept that for now." He brought her hand up and kissed it gently. "Until next time, my lady."

Ursula rolled her eyes at his antics. She left the kitchen first, going to change out of her funeral clothes. James went to get a glass of butterbeer when Elyse walked into the kitchen as well.

"Woot's goin on, Prongs?" Elyse asked as she got herself her own drink.

He shrugged and his eyes followed where Ursula just disappeared, "Nothing much, Lucky."

She smiled and was about to reply when her eyes suddenly glazed over. It happened so suddenly that even James was caught off guard as she dropped her glass and it shattered on the floor. Usually she gave some sort of warning.

She opened her mouth and started speaking in a voice that wasn't hers.

"_A muggleborn child__…born with powers greater than all her peers combined…the third time shall be the charm…immortalizing her in youth…betrayed by one she calls a friend...her life shall not be the only one at stake...multiple will be extinguished for love and sacrifice…a valiant fight for ones she loves...only to die begging for death...for the third time she dies._"

Elyse shook her head and looked down the shattered glass and spilled liquid. "Oh, I think I dropped 'at. James, do yeh've a mop?" She looked up at his horrified face. "James?"

"Oh my God," he breathed in shock.

"Woot?! Woot is it? Woot 'appened?" She demanded.

James shook his head in disbelief, "You just made a prophecy."

"Is 'at good o' bad?" She asked excitedly but with slight apprehension. She thought it was awesome that she could do this but judging by the look on James's face, it was nothing to be happy about.

He looked at her thought of the words of the prophecy. A small tremor of fear raced down his spine, chilling him to his core.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know."

And that simple admission scared him more than the prophecy.

* * *

_Okay, before everyone freaks out, James and Ursula will not be the end couple in this story. James will marry Lily and they will have Harry in accordance to the books. I just added this because I found it highly unlikely that James never dated anyone before Lily. _

_That's why I chose to do it like this. It isn't a serious relationship and they both know that this is just a way for the other deal with the pain of not being able to be with the one they care for. James is still in love with Lily but he can't deal with the fact she has a boyfriend (Gabe Abbot) and he respects the legitimacy of their relationship to ever seriously try to do anything with Lily while she is dating another bloke. James and Ursula won't even be an official couple. They might just hold hands or go out on a mini date or two to Hogsmeade. This is going to be brief so don't worry. And I mean brief as in a couple months into the school year at that. I know I'm probably giving away part of the story but I don't want to have everyone freaking out about James/Lily and or Ursula/Ben._

_So enough with that. The next chapter will have them back at Hogwarts so that should make things a lot more interesting. Let's just say while this seems like a weird place to say it, this is going to be the beginning of James and Lily and a certain red head will be making his reappearance in a little bit._

_I would love to hear what you have to say about this. I know I threw kind of a lot at you at once but that was kind of the point. Things are going to be hectic and crazy and they won't always have time to let things sink in before something new comes up._

_Please review and I will see you guys in probably about a week. Until next time, have a great day and happy reading!_


	5. Back at Hogwarts

Returning to Hogwarts was like returning home after a very long vacation. The castle, while magical, seemed to come alive with the students returning. Yet there was still an air of uncertainty. There were some faces missing after family members were killed or forced to go into hiding.

But now that everyone was back together, an air of excitement passed around the students. They were safe and back at Hogwarts; the war didn't touch them there.

After the carriage ride, the older students were ushered into the Great Hall. James had his arm wrapped around Ursula's shoulders while the rest of their friends walked along with them. They took their usual spot at the table, waiting for the feast to begin and mayhem to unwrap.

Before long, McGonagall walked into the hall with the new students behind her. The group of first years was clearly larger than it had been in previous years.

"Merlin, did they multiply?" Sirius asked incredulously. There had to be seventy more students than usual.

Remus nodded, chuckling at his friend's incredulity, "Hogwarts is the safest place for underage wizards during war. All the parents that would have usually homeschooled their children are sending them away."

"Will we have room in the tower?" Peter asked, looking at the mass of students.

Remus shrugged before smirking, "Pete, is that lipstick on your cheek?"

The other four leaned in, all with varying degrees of smirks on their faces as they waited for their stuttering friend to explain how he got lipstick on his cheek. He was saved, however, the tear in the hat opened and the Sorting Hat Song officially began.

_Year after year, time after time,_

_I sit upon this stool_

_To welcome you back _

_And tell you an entertaining rhyme._

_I see inside your mind _

_And state where I see you best fit._

_It is a difficult job_

_To determine at what table you will sit._

_For no one is purely ambitious and cunning,_

_Nor is one always witty and studious._

_Just as it is difficult to find one fully honest and loyal_

_Or one who is completely impulsive and chivalrous._

_I have sorted traditional Hufflepuffs and brave Ravenclaws_

_Along with compassionate Slytherins and intelligent Gryffindors._

_In a time of war you would do mind to remember_

_The qualities you never knew you possessed before._

_This war has already taken so much_

_Do not let it take what you love dearly._

_Unite together to overcome _

_Not only Godric's house can fight intrepidly._

_To Hufflepuff, while you stand for fairness and equality,_

_It is time to remember what else you stand for._

_Your house was built on the values of honesty and integrity,_

_Show your thirst for justice like you never have before._

_For Ravenclaw I offer this._

_Your wit and intelligence sets you above the rest,_

_Books are the greatest weapon to fight with,_

_For they teach us all the best._

_Beware, Slytherins of falling into the abyss,_

_Your ambition and cunning can only lead you so far_

_Before you reach the point of no return_

_And end up a burnt out star._

_Gryffindors, always itching for the fight_

_Remember this simple warning._

_Bravery is not the absence of fear_

_It is taking the fear and overcoming._

_I've warned you all time and time again_

_And yet none of you have listened._

_So I offer a simpler plea_

_One that you will find hard to contend._

_The threat is upon us_

_It is time to finally see._

_Look past your house lines_

_You are not as different as you believe._

_I may be a simple, tattered hat_

_But I have heard of the dead_

_And I can't help but remember_

_The days I sat upon their head._

_All were brave and righteous_

_And stood up for what is right_

_All of them from different houses,_

_They were all a magnificent sight._

_Don't ignore my plea_

_And forget what I warn._

_You must learn to fight together_

_In this terrible war._

_Now open your minds_

_Don't be filled with chagrin _

_Just put me on your head_

_And let the sorting begin!_

Everyone politely clapped for the song but there was still some hesitation after listening to the song. The hat certainly knew how to poke at the sore points inside the school.

McGonagall stood up next to the stool with the hat and unrolled a scroll and started to read off the names. None of the Marauders paid attention to that, however, and focused back on Peter.

"So Wormy, who's the lucky lady?" James asked with a cocky smirk.

Peter flushed red and muttered a name. Sirius cupped his hand behind his ear, "What was that?"

"Claire DuBois."

"Teh Hufflepuff a year behind us?" Elyse asked with a smile on her face.

He nodded and tried to rub off the lipstick. "We ran into each other this summer and started talking. I think we're going steady now."

Sirius snorted, "You think? How could you not know?"

Peter flushed red, "She asked me to go with her to the first Hogsmeade in a few weeks and I said yes so I think we're going steady."

"She asked you? You didn't even ask her yourself?" James chortled. "That's pathetic Wormy. We're going to have to fix that."

"Like you can give dating advice, Prongs," Remus said sarcastically. "You've asked Lily how many times and she's accepted how many?"

Underneath the table, Ursula grabbed James's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. They had spoken more and though James never outright admitted it while sober, Lily rejecting him destroyed him each time.

"Says the bloke who's having a relationship with his Defense book." James shot back.

"Anway, Wormtail," Elyse interjected, "I've met Claire before n' she's lovely."

"Which one is she?" Sirius pointed at the Hufflepuff table.

"She's got teh blonde hair n' glasses almost right across from us."

Sirius snorted, "Merlin, mate, you could have done better than _that_."

Ursula smacked her brother across the chest, "Shut up you arse."

Honestly, Claire wasn't beautiful in the traditional sense. She was a bit chubby and stocky and the school's uniform didn't help that fact. As a muggleborn, she didn't believe in using spells to fix her acne or blemishes, which wasn't that bad to begin with. Her dirty blonde hair was always pulled into the same sloppy ponytail. Her eyes were beautiful however. They were a rich dark brown that were literally the windows to her soul. They were unfortunately covered behind her glasses.

But while her appearance may not be described as beautiful, her personality certainly was. Ursula had to work with her a few years back in Arithmancy. Hidden behind those glasses and appearance was a brilliant mind and an equally beautiful soul."

"As much as I would love to see Muse beat up Paddy, the Sorting is almost over." James pointed out.

After the last name was called, Zumbili, Rose was sorted into Hufflepuff, the entire school applauded and Dumbledore stood up to deliver his speech. But the sixth year Gryffindors weren't about to let that happen. As discreetly as they could, they pointed their wand at the ceiling and focused all of their magic on the enchanted roof. They knew they were working against powerful magic so they had to focus all they had on this complex spell.

Thunder rolled in the distant and clouds started to form over ceiling, causing everyone to look up at the rapidly changing weather. An eagle cawed and suddenly out of the clouds flew a giant brilliant royal blue and bronze eagle, swooping down towards the Ravenclaw house. A badger came next, yellow with a black strip down it's back. A horrific snake hissed and descended upon the Slytherin house.

Last but certainly not least, a lordly lion jumped out of the heavens, golden fur and red mane, glowing magnificently. The lion walked down the table and swiped his tail at the new first years who suddenly sprouted manes around their necks. Ravenclaws now had small wings (they couldn't fly) emerging from their backs. The Hufflepuffs were covered in soft fur. All of the Slytherins were covered in slimy scales.

The rest of the school roared in laughter when they saw the fate of the most hated house. The Slytherins were all glaring furiously at the Gryffindor table, knowingly towards the Marauders. All of the animals jumped back towards the sky, one last lion's roar echoed throughout the Great Hall.

Dumbledore chuckled and with a dramatic sweeping motion of his wand, the entire spell was undone and the Slytherins, except the first years, were changed back.

"Welcome back, students to a start of a wonderful—"

Elyse tried to focus but the pull was too strong and she was pulled into a vision.

_It was night and she was looking up at the Fat Lady. The portrait herself was looking down, glaring at the hunched over figured at her feet. Snape leaned against the wall, looking more despondent that Elyse had ever seen him. His face was pallid and his hair was a ruffled mess. His beady eyes kept on flickering towards the Portrait._

_When the door opened, a heartbreakingly hopeful look spread across his face. He was unpleasantly surprised when he was violently yanked to his feet and shoved against the wall. Ursula either didn't notice or didn't care when his head hit painfully against the stone wall. She placed her forearm forcefully against his throat and with her other hand she placed her wand underneath his chin._

"_I swear on my brother's life, I you ever even think the name Lily Evans again, I will destroy you."_

"_Please," Snape's raspy voice begged, "Just let me talk to her."_

_Ursula leaned forward, causing Snape to choke more, "You had more than enough to say today. What you said is unforgivable," she moved her wand an painfully pressed it against his left forearm. "And you decided to play with fire. This is your reward."_

_She shoved him back before she disappeared back into the common room. Not yet done, she turned around and glared at the teary eyed boy, "I want to thank you, actually. Lily's inconsolable right now and you want to know who is comforting her right now? James. And you won't do anything about it because Lily doesn't know about that tattoo on your arm. One slip up, one attempt to sabotage James and Lily's relationship and don't even think for a second that I won't tell her."_

_Ursula was about to walk back into the common room, but Snape was unable to let Ursula have the last word, "You would have made a great Slytherin."_

_She shook her head, "As that may be, I only do what I do out of love. You do what you do for empty promises of power."_

Elyse jumped back to the present and saw the layout of food covering the tables. She shook her head and started grabbing food. "So woot did I miss?"

Remus shrugged nonchalantly, "The same stuff that James usually talks us into the opposite of. Since Katsopolis died this summer and didn't plan to come back at all anyway, the new professor is Gregor Podobinski."

She looked up at the staff table at the unfamiliar face that was dramatically telling an apparently hilarious story to Professor Sprout and Slughorn. He was middle age, probably around forty. His blonde hair was speckled with grey but even from her seat she could see his twinkling pale eyes. His laugh traveled over the loudness of the students and he seemed to be completely at ease in the situation.

Across the way, out of the corner of her eye, Elyse saw Snape glaring at in James's direction. Seeing him, Elyse realized that while she remembered all her visions, she didn't remember the prophecy. She was about to ask James but the conversation never allowed for the interruption.

Soon, the prefects were leading the first years up to the dorm so the rest of them quickly got ahead of the little crowd so they could get back to the dorm faster. The first thing on everyone's mind was to write home to assure their family of their safety and in the first years' case, what house they were sorted into. James was about to disappear up the boys' stairs when Elyse grabbed his sleeve.

"James, kin I talk ter yeh fer a second?"

He nodded and followed her towards a more private area of the common room. "What's up, Lucky?"

"I kin remember all me visions but I can't remember teh prophecy yeh heard. Woot did I say?"

His face lost its natural smile, becoming stern and deadly serious, "It doesn't matter what you said because I'm going to make sure that it doesn't happen."

She shook her head incredulously, "Yeh can't change teh future."

James cocked one of his eyebrows, "Watch me."

With that, he left her standing there as he escaped to his room to write his mom and dad. Elyse shook her head and followed his example and walked up to the comfort of her own room.

Later that night, the common room was almost completely deserted. A few seventh years were sitting up playing a game of exploding snaps at t he table while there were a few second years who were too cool to go to sleep early. Alice was writing a letter to her mom and dad, letting them know she was at Hogwarts and safe, while sitting on a window bench. Once done, she got up and went to walk up the stairs to her dorm but a familiar figure caught her attention.

Alice saw a lone figure sitting in front of the dying embers. Ben's elbows were resting on his knees and his hands were wrapped together and pressed against his mouth, his eyes furrowed in deep concentration as he stared at the fire in front of him. His back was hunched in a defeated fashion. There was a light scar on his cheek. The usually well kept fiery locks were in disarray and looked unbrushed.

She walked over and sat down next to him, not saying anything for almost ten minutes before she began to talk.

"I know what you're going through," she said softly. "And I know how much you hate those words. 'I know what you're going through'. Ha! That's the biggest lie next to 'I'm sorry' because no one really gets it. No one understands what losing a sibling does to you. They can relate it to when their grandma died when they were four or when their cat went to the magical menagerie in the sky. They don't know how it feels like someone took part of your soul and destroyed it without any warning.

"And it makes you so angry and you hate it. You lose part of yourself and it just angers you because you don't want to be this person. You hate who you are but you can't change who you are and it makes you so furious that you hate yourself more and then you realize how far you've fallen and nothing makes sense and in the end you just so _angry_." She said that all in one breath, speaking faster and faster and louder and louder.

She finished her rant, panting and trying to hold back tears. Alice took a few deep breaths before she spoke again. "My brother was eighteen years older than me." She began softly after her rant. "I was the 'oops' baby as my uncle jokingly said. Neville, my brother, said that mistakes are usually the best surprises. He was more of a second parent growing up. When he got married, I was only four so I got to be the flower girl. Nev loved having me over to play with his daughter, Nora, who was born later that year. Then my parents died in a muggle car accident.

"Neville tried to take me in but his wife was pregnant with twins, he already had Nora, and he had a job at the Ministry. My parents were close family friends with a family of muggles, the Creevey's and I was taken in by them. Nev made sure that every chance he had; he brought the family over to visit. Mom and Dad didn't care. They legally adopted me about two years after I went to live with them and my name changed to Alice Creevey."

Alice smiled fondly at the memories of her past, her eyes so wide and happy that even Ben smiled slightly, "I realized very young that I didn't just have Nev and his wife Kate along with Nora, Victoria, Michael, and Thomas. I had my new parents and my new two brothers, Andrew and Bradley. I got the best of the magical and muggle world. Nev always made sure to keep in touch and Andrew and Bradley love all things magical. I brought them home this book that read itself and they acted like I gave them a puppy. They never once treated me weird for being different. They loved it.

"Then I'm sure you heard about what happened," Alice said despondently. The fire seemed to sense the change in the story and started to flicker out. "They were all killed, Neville and his family. My nieces and nephews were so young and so full of life. Nora got her letter this summer. She called me up the second she got it and started going on about how happy she was to be going to school with Auntie Alice and be sorted in the same house as me. Oh God, she should be here right now getting settled into her room and writing to her father about getting into Gryffindor like she always dreamed." Alice couldn't stop the tears from freely flowing down her face as she sobbed.

"My family is gone and I will never get to see any of my nieces or nephews walk these halls with me. Do you know how much Tommy cried when he realized that I would be already graduated by the time he got to Hogwarts because he wanted to go to school and show off his coolest auntie? God, just thinking about his little face destroys me. I loved them all so much and now they are all dead and it's me who gets to suffer. They're at peace somewhere with no worries yet here I am terrified that if Lord Voldemort could take away my magical family so easily, what's stopping him from killing my muggle family too?"

Ben shook his head side to side, not knowing how to answer at all.

Alice smiled slightly, "I know you don't. No one does. But that's the thing. We can't control what has already happened. We can only change what will. I'm going to become an Auror to fight for my family and not the just the dead, the living. That's what you need to do, Ben. Find something to fight for."

She patted him on the shoulder twice before getting up and walking away, leaving Ben to his thoughts. She was about to step up the stairs to her dorm when a voice from behind stopped her.

"Alice," Ben said as he looked her in the eye for the first time that night. "Thank you."

Alice nodded her head with a smile, "You are still my friend, Ben. No matter what has happened."

With that, she walked up the stairs and into her dorm. Lily was braiding her hair while sitting cross legged on the bed. Marlene was putting her hair up in an intricate bun in front of a mirror. The sound of a shower running signaled that Elyse was still in the shower. Ursula was sitting in front of her trunk, looking at a letter she found. Her face was ashen and her silver eyes were watery.

After a quick peak over her shoulder, Alice saw the bottom was signed Uncle Alphard and she instantly understood. She gently placed a hand on Ursula's shoulder as not to startle her, "I'm sorry about your uncle. I know you were close."

Ursula shook her head, "We didn't even get a chance to say goodbye." With that she put the letter back in her trunk and climbed into bed.

Elyse came out of the shower a few minutes later and sat down on the edge of Ursula's bed for the other girl to braid it.

"Have you ever thought about what house you might have been placed in besides Gryffindor?" Lily asked out of curiosity.

Elyse shrugged, "Teh hat considered Hufflepuff fer me before placing me 'n Gryffindor. I wouldn't mind bein' here. Woot aboot yeh, Lily?"

"I think I would like to be in Ravenclaw." She admitted. "It's not like half the school doesn't already think I belong there. Marls, where would you go?"

"Slytherin," Marlene had no shame in admitting that. "I'm too blunt and harsh for Hufflepuff and I hate school and learning. So Slytherin is the only place I would fit in."

"I couldn't do that," Ursula said shaking her head. "Before I was sorted the first time, I swore that I would run away to France if I got in Slytherin. I can't imagine myself anywhere but Gryffindor."

Lily looked contemplative, "I think you would do well in Ravenclaw if you applied yourself. You're as smart as me but you just don't like doing school work."

Ursula snorted in a very unlady-like manner. "That's kind of what Ravenclaws stand for, Lily."

"I've ter agree wit Ursula on this. She's more o' a Hufflepuff ter me. I think she's as loyal as a _dog_," Elyse said with a slight smirk.

"Very funny, Lucky," she said rolling her eyes. "So that leaves only Alice. What's the verdict?"

"I actually asked the hat to put me in Hufflepuff. I've always loved what that house stands for. But the Hat won and he placed me in Gryffindor."

Marlene laughed, "We never had a chance of getting rid of you, eh?"

Alice laughed, "I guess that hat saw something in me that I couldn't see myself."

"You're destined for greatness, Alice," Lily said with a brilliant smile. "You're going to be unforgettable."

Alice caught Elyse's eyes and held them for a moment and Elyse couldn't help but remember all of the visions she had had of Alice. Pain flooded her heart and she fought against the tidal wave of misery drowned her.

Later that night while lying in her bed, Alice couldn't help but think back to the conversation. She could understand Lily's words. Lily always saw the greatness and worth of someone when they themselves didn't see it. But for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why Elyse's eyes looked so sad.

* * *

_I don't really have much to say. I think this chapter kind of speaks for itself. This was just the first glimpse of Ben were are going to be getting. There is a high possibility that in one to two chapters from now...well, I guess I'll let you read for yourself what's going to happen.  
_

_I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, alerted, or favorited. I've been having a rough couple of weeks and to see such a positive response, it has significantly brightened some of my days. So from the very bottom of my heart, thank you._


	6. Four P's

_Hola everyone! I hope that everyone has had a good week. Before we get started with this chapter, I thought I would quickly mention a few things from some reviews from the last chapter._

_As to the questions about Neville (from the books) actually being related to the Creevey's, I'm actually not 100% sure. I was originally planning on having it just be her cousin or something, but there would still be that love of magic that is in their blood. I don't know. I could change that if I do decide to write something for the actual series. It's still up in the air at this point._

_Now, Remus getting a girlfriend has been kind of a fickle thing for me. I realize that they are all teenagers and are going to date. That's half the reason why Ursula and James have this weird thing going on (which will be addressed a fair bit in this chapter) and why Elyse still has Pat, and Peter now has his girl. Remus just always struck me as the type of person who wouldn't have a girlfriend. I mean, look at what Tonks had to go through with him. He's not just going to find someone who will accept him. That's the thing that could happen though. Maybe a girl who doesn't accept him...that could be a good mini plot line. Who knows, I still have three more school years to write. This could change before then._

_And for the readers who have mixed feeling about Ursula and James together, know that I feel the same way. It's just one of those things. It's not going to really make a difference in the long run. James still gets Lily and Ursula and James just remain extremely close friends (like brother and sister) their entire lives._

_My favorite part of last chapter, and possibly the entire series, was the sorting hat song. I just love writing them. The inspiration for this one actually came from me thinking that if the sorting hat actually existed, it would be almost impossible to sort some people because they have qualities from all the houses. Hence, the song was created! It was so fun to write. It's possibly the funnest thing to do in this series. I love that you all love them because they are like my babies. I actually start writing them chapters before they are used because I want them to be as perfect as possible._

_Last but not least, I would like to say a special thank you to Ariana-Peachy. When I read your review, I honestly couldn't believe it. Maybe it's that I always think I could write better or I second guess myself too much, but I could never even fathom someone feeling that way about what I write. That is what made it so special and overall wonderful. So once again, thank you so much._

_Sorry about the length of this author's note. Please continue with the story! Oh, just to cover my bases. I don't own anything that you might recognize. I only own my characters and my own personal plot lines._

* * *

It was very obvious from the get go that this year would not be like other years. McGonagall gave them a stern speech about the seriousness of OWLs and how they could determine the rest of your life. James slept through the entire lecture. Professor Sprout spoke about how many people underestimated the importance of herbology. Sirius and Peter played a game of cards under the desk. Slughorn, ever the jolly soul he was, reassured them that they would all be able to get a passing grade as long as they paid attention. The only people who paid attention to that were Lily and Snape.

That was all on the first day. The second day of school was the most interesting without question.

Elyse was awoken by a surprised scream from across the room. She jumped out of bed, grabbing her wand off her night stand and tried to jump out of bed, only to fall cocooned in her blankets.

"What's wrong!" Marlene shouted as she too was abruptly woken up.

Ursula was sitting on her bed with her hand over her heart, hyperventilating. "That bloody bird was on my pillow!" She shouted in defense, gesturing at the all black owl, now safely at the top of her canopy, holding onto a single red rose and a note.

"Whose owl is that?" Lily questioned, walking over to look at the slightly familiar bird. "I've seen it before."

Ursula grabbed her glasses and stared at the creature, shock and recognition revealed that she definitely knew the bird and the owner. Elyse was about to ask, for it seemed familiar to her too, when Ursula jumped up and grabbed the note and rose from the bird. The bird affectionately pecked her on the cheek and instantly, Elyse knew who the bird was. Puffy, James's personal owl was dyed completely black.

As Ursula read the note (turning slightly pink) Lily moved closer to inspect the bird. Elyse tried to hold her back but she couldn't without drawing attention to herself. Lily looked up and cocked her head to the side as she observed the owl. It spun around on the banister and hooted at her before jumping down to her shoulder. She shrieked slightly and was startled when the owl started snuggling his head into the crook of her neck.

"Whose owl is this?" Lily repeated her question.

"No one's." Ursula said with finality. She folded up the paper and shoved it to the bottom of her trunk before stretching her arm and acting like nothing was wrong. "So, what's the first class of the year?" She asked casually.

"Aw, hell no," Marlene said with a smirk. "You don't just get a rose from a bird that is colored black at seven in the morning and not expect to tell us who went through all that trouble."

"It's no one," Ursula answered defiantly.

"Come on, Ursula. Whoever it is, I hope you say yes. This is so romantic," Lily, unnoticed by them all, had gone over to Ursula's trunk and pulled out the poem written on the note.

Ursula's face drained of color, "Lily, please…"

"My Dearest," Lily began in her best guy voice, "Throughout my highest highs, and my lowest lows, the one constant in my life has been you. I know we're meant to be nothing but friends, but allow us this until the very end. We've both been through pain and heartache, but together we can make the world shake. Let the chase be over and the victory won, for this has only just begun."

"Awww, who signed it," Alice asked as she skipped over towards Lily to look at the letter herself. "The Chaser? That's a bit odd."

Ursula nodded, "Yeah, odd. Don't know who sent it though so we might as well get ready for our first class." Ursula quickly said, annoyance starting to get the best of her.

"But this is so romantic!" Alice swooned. "Marlene doesn't date, I don't fancy anyone, and Lily and Elyse already have boyfriends. We get to live vicariously through you!"

"My life is difficult enough without my roommate sticking their noses in my business!" Ursula growled. "Leave it alone." She spit out.

But Marlene kept on pushing, "Holy Hell, Ursula! We sat by and pretended to not know about your relationship with Ben and you saw how that one turned out! Let us know about this one!"

"IT WAS JAMES!" Ursula shouted out of frustration. "James Potter wrote that, alright!? Happy now?" She demanded of the three.

All of their mouths hung open agape.

"James? James Potter? Ultimate prat extraordinaire? The same one that has chased Lily for the last three years?" Marlene asked in shock.

Ursula nodded, her face flushed from anger and embarrassment. "It started this summer. I've been saying no but as you know and can see, he is a persistent bloke."

Lily couldn't seem to wrap her mind around it. "James Potter wrote this letter?"

Ursula nodded and was about to respond when Alice cut in. "Wait a minute, how did it start this summer? I thought you were trapped in Grimmauld Place. At least, that is what we all heard from Elyse."

While they got ready for class Ursula explained the basics of running away to James's house that summer. That thankfully distracted the girls from James writing her a love note. They were leaving the room for breakfast when Ursula noticed the face Lily was making at the note still in her hand. She looked disappointed? Jealous?

"Lily, can I talk to you for a second?" Ursula asked, a thought sticking out in her mind.

Lily jumped slightly and looked up with a just noticeably forced smile, "Of course."

Elyse, seemingly knowing what was going happen, herded the other two girls to the Great Hall.

Ursula took the note from Lily and reread the note. "You know, if you don't want me to, I'll tell James to stop."

"Why would I want you to stop?" Lily asked, lying terribly. "It's not like I fancy him or have some claim on him."

Ursula raised an eyebrow, "I just want to make sure you're comfortable with me possibly dating the bloke that's been chasing you for the last few years."

Lily nodded slowly, "I don't have a problem with it being you and Potter. I'm just worried about you. You've just had a properly messy breakup. He's not your rebound, is he?"

"We're each other's rebound," Ursula answered steadily, finding it amusing that Lily was expressing concern for James without even realizing it. "We've both know that this is temporary and not destined for forever. Prongs'll kill me if you ever mention this to him, but both our hearts belong to other people. The only problem is that they don't care for us anymore."

"You'll be careful, right? I don't want you hurt," Lily asked imploringly.

"I swear, Marauder's honor." Ursula held her hand up as if she was taking an oath.

Lily raised her eyebrows, "Marauder's honor?" She asked they both started walking down the stairs.

Ursula just shook her head, "It's nothing to worry about, Lils. You'll probably understand one day."

When they walked into the Great Hall, Alice and Marlene were sitting in their usual spot and Lily left the join them. Ursula's friends were sitting a little farther down. There were two seats empty although the rest of them were there. One was open next to Peter and on the other side, a seat next to James. He looked up at her and Ursula instantly knew what was going on. It was an answer.

With a great deal of hesitation, Ursula walked over and sat down next to James. "So when're Quidditch try-outs, Captain?" Ursula asked trying to avoid the almost certainly awkward conversation that James would start.

James's lopsided smile was endearing. He grabbed Ursula's hand under the table and answered her, "I already cleared it with McGonagall. We can have tryouts next Saturday. We're only looking for a keeper and two beaters."

"I thought you have to have tryouts for the entire team?" Peter asked.

James rolled his eyes, "I'm captain and I can do what I want. There's no way I'm going to mess with the chasers; the three of us work phenomenally together. There's no way in hell I am getting rid of Elyse."

Elyse smiled, "I'm back on teh team?"

"That was never even up for debate. What I want you to do during try outs is practice. Ursula's going to oversee the beaters as my co while Moira and I go check out the keepers."

"Your co?" Ursula questioned doubtfully.

James nodded and gave her a quick kiss on the temple, "Of course you're my co-captain. I have to make sure my co actually knows what she's doing."

Sirius gagged from across the table. "This is already bloody weird. Don't make it worse by doing that in front of us."

"Alright," James said with a smirk, "We'll just find a broom closet later."

Ursula smacked James across the chest, "You pig." She joked but in reality the suggestion terrified her because this was _James_ they were talking about. It was just strange.

James just laughed ad high fived Peter from across the table. Ursula's eyes widened, "Et tu Peter?" She asked dramatically as she fell against Elyse, fake dying. The rest of them rolled their eyes at her theatrics. James stood up and pulled her up.

"Come on, Muse. Class starts in five minutes."

They all gathered their bags and books before leaving the hall. Sirius shoved Remus forward, "Check which house it is."

Remus sighed at Sirius's childish request but went to the door and looked in. His shoulders became less tense as he turned towards. "It's Hufflepuff."

They all breathed a sigh of relief and followed Remus into the Defense room, all of their eyes on the figure in the front of the room.

Professor Podobinski stood at the front of the room and regarded them with an air of intrigue and curiosity. His eyes met James's and a flash of recognition flashed in his vibrant eyes. "You're James Potter, yes?"

James smirked arrogantly, "Of course I am."

"I checked the grades and you have one of the highest in this class. Impress me." Without anymore warning than that, Professor Podobinski raised his wand and silently shot a spell at James. James jumped back and instantly put up his own shield.

"What the hell!" James shouted as he scrambled to get away from the limited space behind the desk.

"This is the real world Potter! They're not going to give you warning!"

Hex after hex after hex, James was barely able to put up his own protection spells, let alone go on the offensive. Sirius shot from his seat and quickly began to defend his friend. Podobinski was clearly able to handle both of them.

Soon, Remus was the next one up but was quickly petrified by one of the Professor's curses. Elyse caught him before he knocked his head into a desk but she wasn't able to support his weight and fell to the ground with her frozen friend. Peter tried to fight the professor but he was trembling so badly that his spell accidently hit Sirius in the back, knocking him out of the fight.

"You're giving it away with verbal spells!" Podobinski taunted as he dueled them like it was nothing. "You have to surprise your opponent like this!"

Ursula didn't know what spell hit her specifically. All she knew was that it sent her flying higher than she did on a broom. Her back exploded in pain when she crashed against the stone wall.

Suddenly, a bright light blinded the room and Podobinski himself went soaring back and crashed painfully into his desk. The entire class (minus Remus) turned to look at Ben standing calmly behind his desk, his wand in his hand. He didn't have any emotion on his face as stared down at the professor now trying to climb out of the wood splinters of what used to be his desk. The room was so silent that a pin could have dropped and it would have deafened them all.

To the class's complete and utter surprise and shock, Podobinski emerged from the rubbish laughing. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" He exclaimed joyfully. "That's how you fight someone! What's your name son?"

"Benjamin White." Ben responded before slowly sitting back down.

Professor Podobinski nodded his head respectively towards Ben. "That was a nice blasting hex. Unrestrained and raw. Twenty points to Gryffindor. Now class, after that introductory lesson—"

"Introductory lesson!" James screeched indignantly as he helped Ursula to her feet. "You just bloody attacked me, my friends, and my girlfriend and you're saying it's just a bloody lesson!? What sort of Professor are you?!"

Podobinski's eyebrows were right underneath his hairline at this point, "First thing, just call me Pod. You will butcher my full name and I'm not much of a traditional professor. Secondly, you treated me as such. You didn't fight back as hard as you could have. That was your first mistake."

"What do you mean?" Claire DuBois asked, shirking away from the attention as everyone turned to look at her.

"Good question, Miss…"

"Claire DuBois."

"Good question, Claire. Does anyone have the answer?"

Alice tentatively raised her hand. He nodded at her. "Because we might know the person we have to fight?"

"Exactly!" He exclaimed dramatically. "You are probably going to school right now with future Death Eaters who will one day be at the other end of the Killing Curse. My class is not merely to teach you for the OWLs. I could honestly not care at all what you receive. What I care about is that if something happens to you or a loved one and you have to defend yourself or even attack for the sake of other's lives, then you know how to."

Pod, staring out at the class, smirked and quickly reformed his desk. "Now that we're done with the introduction, let's get to the real lesson. Today, you're going to duel. Put everything in your bags and take out your wands. You're partners are Lily Evans with Elyse O'Brian, Claire DuBois and Ryan Riberdean…" He continued to pair up the students. In the end Ursula had to duel with Marlene while James and Sirius were paired together (much to their pleasant surprise) and Peter was paired up with a Gabe Abbot. Remus was paired with Ben, the two formerly close friends barely spoke a word to each other the entire class period.

It was undoubtedly one of the most fun classes of their entire tenure at Hogwarts. James and Sirius were acting like fools and Pod only seemed to encourage it by laughing and giving a few points for creativity.

Sirius and James walked out of the class practically skipping. They were excitedly talking about the brilliant class they were just in. Elyse and Peter were walking a little bit behind him while James was yanking Ursula along with him.

Remus was still in the class room. He shouldered his bag and was about to walk out when he saw Ben standing across the room, looking sadly outside the door, his eyes zeroed in on Ursula. Remus was about to say something when Ben quickly grabbed his things and left to go the other direction. He sighed sadly. Remus honestly missed having Ben around. It would take a while but it seemed that Ben was finally getting better. But that wasn't even the whole challenge. He could deal with all his issues but that would mean nothing if the rest of them couldn't forgive him.

Next Saturday morning, Ursula was at the pitch before the sun rose. She wanted to fly around a little bit before the rest of the returning team and possible members showed up. After changing, with her broom in her hand, she walked out to the center of the pitch and watched the sun rise just over the edge of far away mountain. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before running forward and jumping onto her broom and soaring into the air.

There was no sense of time as she flew through the air. Her hair flew behind her, her loose shirt rippled in the wind, and her face burned from the brisk morning breeze hitting her cheeks. She did tricks for a while before a shrill whistle caught her attention.

A dark haired figure was standing in the middle of the pitch. Ursula smirked and changed directions, racing towards James. Without slowing down, she landed mid run, stumbling the tiniest bit when she slipped on the dewy grass.

James wrapped his arms around her waist and crushed her against him in a passionate kiss. Ursula felt James's hands get tangled in her hair while hers found their way around his narrow waist. After a second, she seemed to come to her senses and she immediately froze up. She put her hands against James's chest and she forcefully shoved him back.

He stumbled and looked at her in mild shock. She wiped her lips vigorously with her forearm. "What the hell James!"

"I just wanted to say good morning," he said with a happy smile on his face. His hands were in his pockets and he was rocking back and forth on his heels.

"By shoving your tongue down my throat?!" She screeched.

James just shrugged, "Just a little good morning kiss."

She shook her head, "I'm sorry James but this is too much too fast. It's just weird."

"I'm trying here Ursula. I know this is odd at best but I'm trying. I honestly am. Just give me a shot."

"Why should I?!" She challenged, a little bit of guilt building up in her chest when she saw the crestfallen look in his eyes. "You're in love with Lily. I don't have feelings for you like this."

"One chance," he bargained, taking her hands to hold, "One Hogsmeade date. That's all I'm asking for."

Ursula looked straight into his honest hazel eyes she tried to turn him down but it was impossible. She tore her gaze away and asked, "Where are Moira and Elyse? I thought they were supposed to be here right now."

"Elyse and Moira are in the changing rooms. I saw you flying and I wanted to see you." He reached up and gently tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered gently caressed her cheek.

"Aw, isn't 'at precious," Elyse cooed as she joined the pair with Moira beside her.

"Just adorable," Moira added.

Ursula rolled her eyes and stepped away from James to shove Elyse in the shoulder, "Thanks, Lucky. " She really was thankfully for the interruption.

For the next half hour, James gave them instructions on what he wanted each of them to do during try outs before the potential players showed up. When they did, Ursula nearly fell off her broom when _two_ familiar faces appeared on the field. Her brother was standing there with his broom while towards the back of the crowd, Ben stood there in perfect silence looking at the goal post.

James was instantly at her side, "Tell me to make him leave and he's gone," he muttered under his breath.

Ursula just shook her head and changed the subject, "Sirius is trying out for beater. I can't be the judge. Moira can do that. You and I can split up the keepers. It will go faster that way."

He nodded, completely in his serious 'Quidditch Zone', "I'll let the others know of the change and then we'll get started."

James flew off and spoke to Elyse and Moira before he landed and motioned towards Ursula to land next to him. He walked towards the crowd of chatting and nervous hopefuls. "Alright listen up!" He said in his 'captain's voice'. Almost instantly everyone was silent. The side of James's mouth quirked up at the power he had. "I'm James Potter, this year's Quidditch Captain and this is Ursula Black who is the unofficial co-captain of the team. Up in the air is Moira McGonagall who is going to be testing out the potential beaters with some assistance later from Black. So beaters, get lost!"

All of the beaters got onto their broom and zoomed off towards Moira. Ursula shouted up to her brother good luck and in return he shouted back that he didn't need it. Both of them laughed at his arrogance and confidence but Ursula sobered up when she saw Ben just staring at her. She took an unconscious step closer to James, who reached out of discreetly took her hand.

"Keepers, split into two groups. Ursula will take the first group and I'll take the second."

It was like the parting of the Red Sea. James saw which group Ben was in and took that group. Ursula looked at the scrawny third year name Thomas McDonaldson, a slow seventh year named Christopher Morgan, and a small, petite second year named Rachel Ulrich. Mentally, Ursula groaned at the torture she was undoubtedly about to receive.

Needless to say, they did not disappoint. Fifteen minutes into the try out and she knew none of them would work. Thomas was jumpy and kept on flying to the wring hoop, Christopher couldn't even get to the right hoop on time, and Rachel was knocked off twice trying to catch easy tosses.

She caught James's attention for a minute and shook her head. He nodded subtly before zooming forward and throwing a Quaffle as hard as he could at a certain red haired Gryffindor. Ursula dismissed the keepers she was auditioning and was about to go help Moira when she saw Remus and Peter sitting in the stands. She flew over towards them.

"Oi, what are you lot doing here? It's seven o'clock on a Saturday," she said incredulously. She couldn't imagine getting up this early voluntarily. The only reason she dealt with it was because she loved Quidditch that much.

Remus closed the book he was reading. "James woke us up with all the noise he made. Besides, it's nice to be outside every once in a while when you aren't about to turn into a horrible monster."

"Speaking about that," Ursula began, "When will you allow me to start joining you during the full moons? I can already make a full transformation—"

"Ursula." Remus said in his most stern and exasperated voice. "One person cannot fight off a werewolf. I would maul you before you could even try to fight back. There has to be at least one other person for it to be safe for any of you. And Elyse and Peter don't count since their forms are so small. You have to be with Sirius or James."

"That's no fun Moony," Ursula jokingly whined. "Live on the wild side a little bit like Peter here." She tapped Peter on the shoulder, startling the poor boy.

Remus just rolled his eyes and picked his book back up. "You might want to get back to the pitch. You're being summoned."

She turned around and saw James waving her over. She hopped onto her broom and quickly went over to James.

"What's up?"

James shook his head, "There's only one choice for Keeper. Ben's the only one that could actually guard all the hoops. I need to know that you can still be on the team with him and not have it affect your playing."

"You make me sound like some weak girl who has the emotional range the size of the Black Lake. I can handle playing with him on the pitch." She said semi-sarcastically.

James nodded once. "Then it's decided. White's the new keeper. Moira said that it was a tough choice but Sirius and some 'Reginald Jackson Hiram King'. He's a third year who used to be home school up until this year. He has some mad Beating skills though."

"Merlin, his name is a mouthful." Ursula complained. "Is it possible for someone to have that many names."

"Have you ever heard Dumbledore's full name? Now _that's_ one hell of a mouthful."

With that, he walked away to go inform the new team members of their new positions on the team. Before he got too far, Ursula reached out impulsively and grabbed his hand, "James, see you at Hogsmeade."

He froze for a second before he smiled widely, "It's a date." He winked at her, squeezing her hand, before he walked over to Sirius.

Ursula sighed and muttered angrily to herself. What had she just get herself into?

As her 'date' to Hogsmeade approached, Ursula found herself swamped with school work and Quidditch. The professors were leaving them with no free time, overwhelming them with homework. It still gave them enough time to work on pranks so then they had detention to deal with on top of that. Of course, Quidditch practices were tense and sometimes extremely awkward. Ursula could feel Ben's gaze on her almost the entire practice. It was more distracting than she would ever admit.

Elyse was having just as difficult a week. Letters between her and Pat hadn't exactly been like they used to be. They seemed tense. The morning before their Friday lesson the afternoon before the first Hogsmeade weekend, Elyse was sitting in class when she was yanked into a vision.

"_Seamus!" An older Pat shouted through the house. "Yeh's got a letter!" He looked at the letter and trace the emblem on it as if he was remembering dream. A young boy came running from the upstairs. He looked just like his father._

_As Seamus quickly grabbed his letter and read through it, a woman walked out of the kitchen, brushing off her hands on her apron. "What is it, Pat?"._

_Pat just shook his head, "I don't know. Yeh eva' git a feelin' yeh forgot somethin' important?" he asked wistfully as he looked at the owl sitting on the window ledge and the envelope in his hands._

_The woman's eyes softened, making her already pale eyes look gentler, "It's alright. It'll be alright." _

Elyse jolted out of her vision. She tried to look like she hadn't just missed an unknown amount of time because she was seeing the future.

"Woot're we doin'?" Elyse whisper asked Ursula as she copied the other students and got her wand out.

"Every last Friday is going to be Patronus day. He wants everyone to be able to make a full corporal patronus by the end of the year. Sounds so difficult, doesn't it Lucky?"

Elyse chuckled. She had been able to do this particular spell for the last two years. All around the room, chants of "Expecto Patronum" were spoken with different degrees of inflection. She just picked up her wand when there was a startled shriek from just to the right of the girls.

A large stag was now prancing around the room. Pod laughed loudly, clapping proudly, "Wonderful Potter. I'd say fifty points to Gryffindor for this feat!"

James smirked arrogantly. Sirius, always one to follow James, said the incantation and his Grimm looking dog started frantically running around the room. Soon, it was chasing Elyse's rabbit. Pod was over the moon. He awarded Gryffindor another hundred points for the amazing show of magic. The stag walked over to Lily and started nuzzling its head against her hand. Lily blushed but gently touched the patronus. The stag danced on its hind legs before running a victory lap above the students' heads.

Elyse watched the four (Peter had managed to finally add his) patronuses run around the room. She realized that they were missing someone's besides Ben's; Ursula's. At Elyse's goading, Ursula raised her wand and quickly said the familiar incantation. Fully expecting to see the Siberian Husky emerge in blueish/silvery wisps of smoke, Ursula almost dropped her wand when that didn't happen. She looked at the new form of her patronus, shock and disbelief the only emotions readable on her face. When Elyse saw what it was, she gasped and she realized that Ursula hadn't cast that spell since she could make her transformation so there was no way for her to know of the change.

She remembered hearing James explain that the form could change if the castor went through an emotional upheaval, like losing a loved one or falling in love. There was no question as to which one caused Ursula's change.

Her patronus was a lioness.

* * *

_So can anyone guess what the four P's are? Think of four word that being with P that would fit the main 'sections' of this chapter. I didn't realize until I was almost done with it that I managed to make all of my points start with the same letter._

_Either way, I hope you all enjoyed reading this. Please let me know what you think of it! A lot of my inspiration comes from you guys. You are all already wonderful readers, reviewers, alerters, and favoriters. I would just love to hear what you think of the chapter! _


	7. Hogsmeade Dates

_Thank you to everyone that has read this story up to this point. I am honestly astounded when I see the number of people reading this. It simply amazes me. Considering that I started out with about ten people reading new chapters consistently, to have close to a hundred after only a few days is amazing to me. So thank you all. _

_This chapter, while it isn't a filler, is a bit of a more relaxed chapter at some parts. There is one part where I didn't realize how creepy it was until I said it out loud at night to make sure it sounded like I wanted it to and I think I actually scared myself a little bit._

_That's all I have for notes/comments about this chapter. Without further delay, please enjoy._

* * *

It was about four in the morning, the sun was just barely breaking over the mountain range, casting a soft almost fuzzy look to everything. The entire castle for once seemed in perfect peace. No students were running through the halls, frantically trying to get to class on time. The bitterest of rivals weren't sharing hate filled insults. All of the teachers were still lying in their beds, grateful that it was the weekend.

There was a fresh fall breeze that swept through the castle's open corridors, giving the castle a bright feeling of anticipation. The portraits were just beginning to wake up and greet each other, speaking of their elaborate dreams (well, as elaborate as dreams could be for a portrait) and their plans for the day. When the Fat Lady woke up from her slumber, she immediately started warming up her voice to greet the children living in the Tower she protected.

In the Forbidden Forest, the woodland creatures, magical or normal, began to awaken from their sleep while some nocturnal animals finally closed their eyes and rested. The Whomping Willow's branches swayed back and forth, sashaying in the wind. Her leaves were not unlike the dress of a dancer, moving to the music of Mother Nature's symphony.

It was then, all the way across the grounds, in the fifth room of the second highest tower, a young man was tossing and turning in his sleep. Sweat formed on his brow and his eyes were clenched tightly together while he shook his head back and forth, as if that would stop the horrific dream that plagued his rest.

_He was sprinting down the hallway, screams of pain and fear deafening him. His heart beat out a painful, torturous rhythm against his chest as he tried to will himself to move faster. No matter how fast he moved his legs, no matter how much strength he used, he never seemed to get closer to the chillingly familiar voices screaming._

_Then there was dead silence._

_All of the voices stopped, the flashes of light coming from the doors disappeared. He opened his mouth and tried to shout out but in his dream he had no vocal chords. Finally he was able to move forward. He ran to the first room and wretched at the sight. In a bloody mess were the barely recognizable bodies of Ursula and Ben. Their bloody and mutilated hands were a mere inches from each other; they looked as if they died holding hands. A pool of blood was quickly forming under their bodies, reaching out to him. His mouth was open in a silent scream. He tried to move away from the horrid sight but he couldn't. _

_Then to his horror, their heads turned to stare at him with their unnatural eyes open. Both of their mouths opened and began to ask, "Why? Why? Why?"_

_He stumbled back, hyperventilating, crashing into a room adjacent to the last. He yelped in shock. Sirius's and Remus's severed heads were lying on a table while their bound bodies were still chained to the wall. His heart tried to escape from his chest when Remus and Sirius opened their eyes and their mouths, blood pouring grotesquely out of all the orifices on their heads, as asked, "Why? Why? Why?"_

_He turned and ran as fast as he could. He frantically looked for a place to escape this hell when he tripped on something and went sprawling across the floor. The uneven stone cut into his hands and knees. He looked over his shoulder to see what tripped him and he quickly scrambled forward to try to get away from the partially liquefied body of Peter. With half his face melted off, Peter looked up and began to ask, "Why? Why? Why?"_

_Unable to stand it any longer, he speedily got to his feet and ran faster than he ever had before. He could see anymore. There was no one left to see except for one more._

_But he was wrong._

_He ran into the first empty room he saw, only to see an open coffin on display in the middle of the room. He tried to run away, he didn't want to see her in a coffin; he was going to change that. But an invisible force yanked him forward. He fought against it; he grabbed into the doorframe and tried to fight it but it was like there was like he was under the imperious curse. _

_His mouth opened in a silent scream when he saw who lay in the coffin. Lily's beautiful red hair fanned around her head and her elegant hands that were so adept at potion making where folded over her stomach. She was wearing the gold sweater he loved seeing her in. The only thing wrong (not that anything could truly be wrong with her – she was perfect in every way to him) was a cut right underneath her chin, reaching from right under her ear to about her jaw. He felt range surge through his veins. His hands gripped the edge of the coffin as he sobbed at the love of his life lying dead. He bowed his head and although he couldn't make a sound, he sobbed and apologized to Lily over and over again. Soon, he was all out of tears and let his head fall against the cool wood of the coffin._

"_Why? Why? Why?" _

_He sprang back with impossible speed and watched the ghastly sight of Lily sitting up in the coffin and turning her head at an unnatural angle to ask him that one question that haunted him. _

_He escaped from the room and slammed the door shut behind him. He felt his heart hammering against his chest as he leaned heavily against the door. His knees shook and his hands were clammy. His knew without looking that his eyes were bloodshot and his skin was paler than the moons._

_A new voice, softly singing in an infuriatingly taunting voice, caught his attention. He ran after it, ready to make the person pay dearly for what they had done to his friends._

"_One by one and two by two_

_All your friends will die for you._

_Three by three and four by four_

_You cannot prevent this gore._

_Five by five and six by six_

_They see past your childish tricks._

_Seven by seven and eight by eight_

_You cannot stop what is fate._

_Nine by nine and ten by ten_

_This will always be the end."_

_The voice got louder and louder as the child (it sounded like a child to him) sang its sing-song rhyme. He came to a skidding halt when he turned the corner and saw the person._

_Elyse stood there perfectly fine, just singing that song. When he came into view, she stopped her rhyme. Before he could say anything, Elyse said, "James, why didn't you save us?"_

_James tried to answer but his voice still wasn't working._

"_Why, James? Why? You knew this would happen? You promised us you would protect us, but we all died! Why? Why?" Elyse asked sobbing. _

_James saw the figure approaching her from behind. He tried to run forward to protect her, to warn her, to take her spot, but he was frozen in his place once again. The figure lifted its wand and hissed, "Avada Kedavra," before disappearing in black smoke._

_Elyse was illuminated in a horrifying beautiful green for just a second. Her eyes locked with James's once more before she asked, "Why?"_

James sat up with a gasp. His heart was painfully beating against his ribcage and his lungs felt like they were on fire. He frantically groped for his glasses, ignoring the sharp pain when he accidentally hit his hand against the corner of his nightstand, and quickly put them on, checking in the dim light that all his roommates were where they were supposed to be. Remus was still snoring loudly in his bed, Sirius was mumbling something about bikes and brooms, Peter apparently wanted some cheese, and Ben was dead to the world minus the tapping the noise he made when he tapped out the occasional rhythm with his foot.

Still anxious from the terrible dream, James grabbed the Marauder's Map and quickly opened it, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

He unfolded the paper and looked at the girl's dorm where the names Elyse O'Brian, Ursula Black, and Lily Evans were exactly where they were supposed to be. James fell back against his pillows and took a few relieved deep breaths. It was all just a dream.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, James quickly got dressed and snatched Remus's Prefect badge (having a friend who was a Prefect had _some_ perks) in case he got caught somewhere he shouldn't be.

Deciding that Snape was always a favorable target, he made his way down to the Slytherin Common Room. He didn't know the current password so he was going to have to improvise and just have to think of something only based on spells. Once in the dungeon area, James looked around for inspiration. It didn't help that the hallway was barren and as boring as hell. It was nothing like the Gryffindor Common room that had all the changing staircases or the Ravenclaw Common room that had the door knocker. Hell, Hufflepuff's had to be the most interesting one since it was nearly impossible for anyone to get past, except for Hufflepuffs that is. Yet Slytherin's was just a cold stone hallway.

Stone hallway. It was mildly uncanny how similar this hallway was to the one in his dream. He remember tripping on the stones and thought about when he was flying through the air. A devious grin spread across his face. Pulling out some of the supplies he brought, he created a small pressure sensor (nothing too technical) and magically lifted the stone right in front of the entrance. The second someone put even the slightest bit of pressure on the floor, they would go flying.

Satisfied with his ingenuity, James stuck his hands in his pocket and whistled himself a little tune as he walked to the kitchens for an early morning snack. He would be going to Hogwarts later that day with Ursula and he was a growing boy who needed his nourishment, therefore two breakfasts didn't seem too bad to him before a nice meal at the Three Broomsticks.

Unbeknownst to him, Professor Dumbledore was coming towards him, taking an early morning stroll. James nearly jumped out of his skin when his headmaster's airy voice greeted him, "That is a catchy tune, James Potter. Perhaps your friend Benjamin is not the only musician of the group."

"King's not my friend," James immediately responded.

Dumbledore nodded and stroked his beard in thought before commenting, "Yet you still refer to him by his nickname."

James seemed taken aback by that observation, thinking back to his nightmare that included Ben's death. Dumbledore seemed to be able to sense what had happened and nodded thoughtfully, "Sometimes it does one good to speak of dreams. Though they do not hold much value, they often show us our deepest fears."

"It's nothing Professor," James said stubbornly.

Dumbledore shook his head, "It was truly nothing, you would not be so upset."

"It's nothing," he bitingly said, "because it isn't going to happen."

The older man regarded the younger for a moment, "The future is a fickle thing James. Your friend Elyse knows that better than anyone else in this castle."

"She doesn't even remember so she doesn't know," James said sarcastically.

Dumbledore looked perplexed, "Is she forgetting her visions?"

James shook his head and decided that if there was anyone he could go to about this, not all of it though, it was Dumbledore, "She made a prophecy. I was the only one to hear it."

"Would you tell me what she said?" Dumbledore pressed.

There was something off about the question. James hesitated, something telling him not to tell his headmaster the prophecy. "No. It doesn't matter because like I said, I'm going to stop it."

Dumbledore seemed to deflate slightly, like a child that wasn't allowed to know a wonderful secret. "Just be wary, James, when one tries to change a prophecy, there is always the risk of inadvertently causing it." With those last words, Dumbledore excused himself, stating he forgot his lemon drops in his office.

James just shook his head, thinking the headmaster's advice was pointless. How could he ever accidentally cause Elyse's death when trying to prevent it? Shaking his head, he made his way to the kitchen ready to get his pre-breakfast breakfast.

* * *

Hogsmeade was unlike it was ever before. Usually James's trips consisted of him stopping at Zonko's and restocking on pranking supplies, tripping a couple of underclassmen discreetly, annoying Snivellus, getting an unhealthy amount of sweets from Honey Dukes, and finishing the day off drinking his weight in butterbeer. The day would be spent with his best friends, causing mayhem as they lived up to their self proclaimed title of the Marauders.

Currently, he was sitting across from one person from said group of friends in the most uncomfortable silence he had ever found himself in. Ursula was sipping on her butterbeer while they waited for their meals to come. James kept running in hand through his hair, trying to think of something, _anything_, to say. Merlin, it had never been this weird between them before. Then again, other people had always been around. This was truly the first time they were trying this and alone.

Finally sick of the silence, James slammed his hands loudly on the table, "I can't take this anymore! I'm breaking up with you!"

Ursula slumped back into her seat, "Thank Merlin. I thought you would never say that."

James feigned looking offended, "What's the supposed to mean?"

She smirked, "It means that I didn't want to be the one to end it because I remember a certain arrogant prat asking me if I would ever break his heart."

His entire face up to his ears flushed red, "That's not to be spoken of to anyone ever again." He pointed his finger in her face, fully intent on making his point made.

Ursula laughed, feeling more at ease than she had in weeks in James's presence, "So what do we do now? Moony, Sirius, and Lucky said they wanted to check out the Shrieking Shack and maybe attempt their transformations, sans Remus."

"Wormy's on his date…" James trailed off, looking like the epitome of mischief. "I have the cloak; we could always go check up Wormtail and make sure his date's treating him right."

Ursula rolled her eyes as she stood, "Other way around Prongs. Knowing Peter, he's probably making a fool of himself."

"I thought that was assumed. Come here, Love," He grabbed her around the waist and yanked her close to him before discretely throwing on the cloak. A pained yelp caused a few surrounding patrons to look up for the source of the noise.

"What the hell! That's my throwing shoulder!"

"Don't call me Love." She retorted simply as they walked without a care towards the door, not stopping as they knocked into other wizards and witches who were baffled by the invisible object they ran into.

"Alright, _Sweetie_." James teased.

There was a grunt and the cloak almost fell off the pair as James double over in pain, "Damn, Ursula, you don't hit a bloke there!" James said, his voice a few octaves higher than usual.

"You don't call me Sweetie." She quipped before grabbing her complaining companion's shoulder, yanking him out of the restaurant.

* * *

_~Earlier that morning~_

Peter paced back and forth in front of the courtyard, waiting for Claire to show up. His friends (really just Sirius) hadn't been supportive of his date with Claire. He didn't know her as much as he knew Ursula or Elyse and he felt like he was about to be sick. He didn't do good with spending time with other people. Being friends with some of the most charismatic people surprisingly didn't leave him with knowing how to charm a girl or even hold a conversation with someone outside of their group.

His nerves were going haywire at this point. She was fifteen minutes late. What if she didn't want to go with him? What if she agreed only on a dare? Maybe she realized she was going on a date with him and came to her senses. Did she say that he was supposed to pick her up from her common room? Peter frantically searched through his panicked thoughts and tried to remember anything she might have ever said to him.

He was nearly about to give up and walk back to the common room in shame from being stood up when someone cleared his throat behind him. He turned around his heart decided to choke him. She looked…stunning.

Claire, known for being dowdy, was simply beautiful. It wasn't like Lily's elegant beauty, Ursula's distinctive beauty, or Elyse's quirky beauty; it wasn't anything he expected. And it took his breath away.

"Claire, you, you look b-b-beautiful," he stuttered as he stared at her.

She flushed bright red and pulled the hair away from her face. It was down, he had never seen it down before, and framed her rosy face. Her eyes weren't hidden behind her glasses anymore. "Really?"

Peter nodded fervently, "You're beautiful." He said with much more confidence.

She turned even redder and looked at her shoes shyly, "No one's ever said that to me before."

His jaw dropped, "Really?"

"Yeah."

They both shuffled awkwardly, unsure as to how to continue. Peter went to offer his arm to her, thought better of it, then decided to motion towards the door, "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade now?"

She nodded and walked out of the door. Peter nodded to himself, quite proud that it wasn't going as bad as he thought it would, before realizing that he was standing alone in the doorway. He jumped slightly and rushed after Claire.

When he caught up to her, they walked in silence towards Hogsmeade. McGonagall gave Peter a mildly surprised look when he walked past. He flushed slightly, not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. Ahead of them, Peter saw Remus and Elyse standing by the side of the path to Hogsmeade. Remus smiled at him and Elyse waved happily at the pair.

Peter looked questioningly about the whereabouts of the third of that group and Elyse rolled her eyes and motioned subtly up where Sirius was climbing the tree while trying to carry a bucket full of water balloons (Peter would know, he only got three hours of sleep last night because Sirius asked him to fill all of them with water) up to the top.

"Oi! Peter!" Sirius shouted down. "Think fast!"

Before he could react, a water balloon was dropping directly towards his head. He flinched, waiting for impact and the humiliation of being pranked by his friends in front of his date, but the impact never came. Remus pulled out his wand and levitated the balloon about ten feet above the pair.

Remus turned towards Peter and Claire, ignoring Sirius's complaints, and said, "I apologize for him. We're still trying to tame him. It's a long and painful process for all parties involved."

Claire giggled at Sirius's indignant shouts. Peter shuffled, indignantly shouting in his head, furious that his friends were able to get more of a reaction out of his date than he was able to.

Elyse seemed to pick up on his want for it just to be him and his date. "Remus, shouldn't we try ter get Paddy out o' teh tree?"

The sandy haired boy sighed, exasperated. "If we must. Then again, we could just leave him there."

"Leave me up here and I'll kill you in your sleep."

"I'd love to see you try, Paddy." Remus said sarcastically, the strain of the coming moon already affecting his health.

"Shut it Moon Boy."

Peter grabbed Claire's hand and quickly walked away from his friends. Once they were in town with Peter still holding her hand, he flushed red and quickly let go of her hand, mumbling, "I just wanted to get away."

Claire laughed genially, "Why would you want to get away? They seem like wonderful friends."

He shrugged, "They're a bit much to handle at times," he admitted, courage building in his chest.

"It just seems like you are always with them causing mayhem. I heard that it's you and your friends who did the thing with the ceiling at the Sorting Feast. That was really impressive. Were you responsible for that?"

"Just a little bit," Peter admitted. Her eyes widened and he felt immensely proud of himself. Here he was impressing a girl.

"That's amazing! I wish I was as good at magic as you. All I can do is put a couple of numbers together and create spells. Whenever I try them, they literally blow up in my face," her face flushed with embarrassment from admitting her lack of magical skill.

Peter nodded, "I'm particularly good at Charms. I even help out Sirius sometimes with the subject," he lied through his teeth. What Sirius didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Really?! I never thought that Sirius was bad at charms. Not that I think you're lying; why would you lie about your friends? And I don't want to sound stalkerish, but I've always been fascinated with you so I kind of stayed close to you in classes we shared so you would notice me and I thought it was Sirius helping you. It's not that I thought you were dumb – I struggle in classes – but I assumed that it was you."

Not really sure what to say to that, Peter shrugged bashfully. They continued to walk down the path, stopping occasionally to look at something in one of the storefronts. Every so often they would exchange shy and awkward glances before one of them would turn red and start walking again. They were only interrupted once when Elyse walked up to them.

"Sorry fer interruptin' yer date but've either o' yeh seen James o' Ursula? They's both gone missin' an' no one else's seen 'em."

Peter shook his head, "Are you sure they didn't just go somewhere private for their date?"

Elyse jumped slightly and turned to look at something before relaxing. She seemed to be listening intently to something before nodding her head slightly before refocusing on Peter and Claire, "Never mind. See yeh later Wormy, Claire."

She smiled brightly at them before flouncing off to find Sirius or Remus. Claire shook her head in amusement, "She's an interesting character, isn't she?"

Peter chuckled and thought off all the 'mildly interesting' qualities that could be applied to Elyse. "She's a special girl."

"Damn, Wormy, your date looks mighty fine," a voice whispered to him. He nearly jumped a foot in the air, startling Claire as well.

"What is it?" She asked him, worried that something was wrong.

He shook his head, "I thought someone touched me."

"Tisk, tish, Wormtail. Lying to your girl? I'm ashamed." James mocking chastised.

"Ignore him, Peter. He's just being a pain in the ass because we passed Lily with Snivellus on our way over," Ursula explained from behind him.

Peter asked, as subtly as he could when Claire was distracted looking at some of the candy in front of Honeydukes, "What are you two doing here?"

"Well after Prongs here broke up with me, we decided to shadow your date. Make sure things go perfectly for you."

"Then why did you bring James?" Peter mumbled to himself, thinking about how James had ruined almost every chance he ever might have had with Ursula. When she broke up with Ben, he thought it might have been his chance; his one shot. Instead James swooped in and got the girl only to break up with her within a few weeks. It wasn't fair and at this point, Peter was glad that James was hidden at that moment because he sure would have loved to give him a piece of his mind (not that he would ever actually ever have the courage to do that).

A floating hand appeared out of nowhere and slapped him upside the head, "Shut it Wormy or who knows what I might let slip."

Peter groaned. Wonderful. Just what he needed; James and Ursula following him around on his date.

It was a dream bloody come true.

* * *

_So I really didn't know how to end this. It doesn't matter that much in the grand scheme of things. I just wanted to show the beginning of Peter's date because honestly, Peter's been a slightly neglected character in my opinion so I decided to give him half a chapter._

_The next chapter will be focusing on the group as a whole. And when I say whole group, I mean whole group. I hope that you all have some patience after this slightly delayed chapter because I don't see the next one being posted within the next week. Due to school and music conflicts, this is looking like a week/week and a half update estimate. Just a warning. _

_In the mean time, feel free to let me know what you thought of this chapter or even this entire story as a whole. I know I sound like a broken record player, but I honestly do love hearing from you guys because it helps me tailor a story to fit the reactions of you (the reader) so I can make the story more enjoyable. It shouldn't take a lot of your time, just a little bit can help a lot_

_Until next time, adios and happy reading._


	8. Too Far: Part One

_First thing, sorry about the delay for this chapter. I guess you will be able to see why it took me so long to write this but I have to say that because of school commitments and other conflicts this chapter was written in about three to four days. _

_In response to some reviews, I would just like to express how shocked I was when I saw Bellatrixlover23's review. I don't even have words to describe how flattered/surprised/impressed I am that you took time to do/write that. I don't want to give anything away about the reunion of Ben and Ursula but I will say it is a little bit different in my head but there were some parallels to what I plan on writing/incorporating in the actual scene._

_Livestrong617, you know how amazing you are! I don't want to pick favorites because I love everyone's reviews but there is just something special about yours that draw my attention. I'm glad you like how I portray Peter because like you, I hate it when people make Peter this obviously evil character when they are in first year. It is just so unrealistic to me. I too am relieved that James and Ursula broke up. It was nice to write because their dynamic as friends would have made a wonderful couple in a different story, just not this one. But it was fun while it lasted. As for ideas and how I write, lets just say that I consider this chapter to be one of my better examples of how I try to keep in canon with my own personal twist while still being original. I hope you enjoy it. _

_So this chapter took a little bit of a different turn than I thought. Half of this chapter was not originally planned but these story lines just came to me and I had to write them out. Then the part I did want to write made it too long so I decided to split it up into two chapters. _

_I apologize (more specifically to cookiewMonstuurrr) that I will only partially be keeping my promise about them all coming together but it will definitely happen next chapter because it is literally one of the scenes I have had written out in my head since before I write the first word for the first chapter. _

_I hope you all enjoy._

* * *

**Too Far: Part One**

"James, fer teh love o' God, call it a night," Elyse begged practically doubled over on her broom, shaking from exhaustion and the cold. Her body was covered in a layer of perspiration. Sirius had actually collapsed on the ground and was hyperventilating. A little farther away, Ursula was helping guide Moira from the air since the girl was so exhausted she couldn't see straight.

"Prongs, this is madness," Ben wheezed, his hands resting on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. They arrived for practice after the end of classes, missed dinner, and the sun had already gone down.

James, who had been considering calling practice, turned to glare at Ben, his eyes hardening, and said, "For that, ten laps around the pitch."

RJ, the only nickname for Reginald Jackson Hiram King and the rest of the team could agree on, shuddered and took a few tentative steps while his legs shook, "Can we at least take our gear off?"

"Are you going to take your gear off during a game?" James challenged. RJ was silent. James smiled smugly. "That's what I thought. Now come on!" He waved his arm and started running towards the wall of the pitch.

Ursula sighed and was the first to follow after James. The rest of the team followed at their own pace. They made it for about three laps before RJ collapsed on to the side and started vomiting. James doubled back along with the rest of the team.

He knelt down next to RJ, "Can you make it back to the castle?"

RJ's response was to vomit again. James sighed and looked at the rest of the team, who had stopped to make sure their teammate was okay. "Here's what's going to happen. Muse is in charge while I go bring JR back to school. Finish the laps, got that Muse?"

Ursula nodded. James, satisfied with her response, helped RJ to his feet and helped him across the pitch and out of the stadium. After they disappeared, Ursula turned towards the rest of the team. They were all looking at her, all of them looking like they were about to collapse from exhaustion but still strong enough to continue on it they must.

Making up her mind, Ursula addressed them all, "If you want to stop, head back to your dorms without James seeing you. If he asks, we finished them. Are we clear?"

Elyse and Sirius nodded, their shoulders finally sagging from sheer exhaustion. "Are yeh goin' up ter teh castle wit us?" Elyse asked.

Ursula shook her head, "I'm going to finish the laps."

"You're insane," her brother said shaking his head in awe of her madness. "I'm heading back to the castle. Would you care to accompany me, Lady Luck?" Sirius asked Elyse, offering his arm to her. She laughed and looped her arm with his.

"See yeh back in teh room," Elyse said. Waving goodbye as she and Sirius walked off the pitch.

The three remaining players stood there, Moira and Ben looking at Ursula. She tensed under their gaze, mainly due to one of them. Moira, oblivious and innocent as always, didn't seem to pick up on Ursula's silent plea to stay as she bid her goodnight and left the former couple standing alone.

"I won't leave you alone here at night," Ben said softly, his voice barely louder than a whisper. Ursula mentally scolded herself when she felt her heart skip a beat at hearing his voice again after ten months. It was lower than she remembered but just as melodic and enchanting.

Fighting the urge to respond, Ursula simply turned her back to him and started to finish her laps. Soon, his footsteps echoed hers, matching her stride for stride. Annoyed, she pushed herself faster and faster getting more and more frustrated as he was able to match pace with her. This continued for the next seven laps around the stadium.

It was childish, Ursula knew, but she refused to look at Ben as they ran together. Every once in a while she would catch him out of the corner of her eye looking at her. It was infuriating. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to turn to look at him and see the apologizing and miserable look in his eyes. But her stubbornness made it impossible.

So she did the only thing she knew how to do regarding Ben. She ran.

* * *

Back in Gryffindor Tower, Sirius and Elyse were sitting on the sofa in front of the fire. Her feet were resting on top of Sirius's lap while Elyse had her back against the armrest. Sirius was writing a letter in response to one from Andromeda while Elyse flipped through the Marauders Map, just looking at the going ons around the school.

Per usual, Dumbledore's footsteps paced back and forth in his office. Filch was accompanied by Mrs. Norris and judging by the two students who were next to him, it appeared that he caught two students out of bed. Elyse snorted lightly in amusement; Filch could find a student during passing periods and try to pass it off as them out of bed after hours. The footsteps of Remus Lupin and Lily Evans were close together as they made their prefect rounds together, occasionally stopping to catch snogging couples (that was the only explanation for the footsteps being so close together) and making them retreat back to their common rooms.

"You know, I'm not a bloody footrest," Sirius complained as he shoved her feet off of him.

She shrugged and kicked her feet back up, "Yeh's lazier than one."

"Oi, I am not!" Sirius said outraged. He tickled the bottom of her foot causing her to jerk back and almost fall off the sofa. Sirius laughed at her misfortune as she glared at him.

"Yer an arse," She grumbled as she repositioned herself with her feet under her. She looked at Sirius's profile, seeing the scar right behind his ear from some injury over the summer. At that moment, she was shocked by how little she knew of what actually happened that summer. "Sirius, kin I ask yeh something?"

He snorted, "Why the hell not?"

She paused a moment and then softly asked, "Woot happened this summer?"

Sirius visibly tensed up. He rolled his shoulder subconsciously, "We ran away. That's what happened."

"I know; I saw some o' woot happened."

"Then why are you asking?" He asked more harshly than he realized.

Elyse recoiled at the tone, "Yeh seem bothered by it still. I just wanted ter make sure yeh was okay."

"I'm all right, Lucky." He swore, turning to look her right in the eye. His face was hardened and he was clearly not fine. He may have put on a rough exterior but his face could never hide his emotions. It he was cheerful he looked it; it was the same if he was sad, guilty, or mischievous.

With that, he got up and walked to his room, declaring that he soon wouldn't be able to move a muscle if he didn't properly recover from the 'arse beating training Prongs has going' and retreated up the stairs.

Elyse sighed, she had hoped to be able to talk to Sirius but that was out of the question. After a quick look at the map she saw that James was still in the Hospital wings with RJ, Peter was in his dorm, Remus was still making his rounds, and both Ursula and Ben were running around the Quidditch pitch. Elyse found that interesting. This was the first time since Annabelle's funeral that Ben had spent any significant time alone with Ursula. The result was bound to be interesting.

But something on the next page of the map caused her to jump up. Moving in one of the deserted hallways between the Hufflepuff Common room and the library was none other than Claire Dubois, unknowingly accompanied by Snape and Mulciber. Without a second thought, Elyse herself was out of the common room walking as quickly as she could towards Claire. She checked the map a few times to make sure she didn't get caught by a Filch or the prefects. Her pace sped up when she saw that Claire had stopped and was now surrounded by the Slytherins.

When she made it to the corner, she pulled out her wand and tucked the map into the pocket of her robes. Elyse took a deep breath; adrenaline was already coursing through her system as her body anticipated the possible duel to come.

"—weak little girl," Mulciber mocked as he ran his wand tauntingly down her cheek. She wimped and tried to get away but she was trapped between the wall and the intimidating boy.

"P-P-Peter will—will," She stuttered, trying to think of something threatening to say.

The two boys laughed at the failed attempt at the threat. "Will do what?" Mulciber asked through the chuckles, "Stutter at us? Admit it, your little boyfriend may have befriended a group of brave, talented idiots but he is just an idiot."

"Aw, thanks fer teh compliment, though I would've left teh idiot part oot," Elyse commented as she got closer.

"What do you want, O'Brian?" Snape drawled lazily, as if she wasn't a threat to them at all.

Elyse calmly lifted her wand and hexed Mulciber, sending him flying across the hallway. "I want yeh ter leave me friend alone."

"You and who's army? Your magic is mediocre at best," Snape said as he brandished his own wand.

"No, no, no," Elyse spoke like she was speaking to a child, "I've alerted the rest of them and they are on their way."

Snape's upper lip curled in disgust at the mention of her other friends, "Your friends are pathetic swine."

"Did I mention Remus is doing rounds with Lily so she's on her way as well?" Elyse cleverly lied, hoping that her ploy would work long enough for the boys to leave.

Snape's face visibly paled at the threat. Without another word, but with a hate filled glare, he turned and hastily yanked Mulciber up from the ground and they retreated back to their common room.

Elyse quickly went to the shaking Claire's side. "Did they hurt yeh?" She asked as she lay a hand gently on the girl's shoulder.

Claire shook her head, wiping tears from her eyes, "They were about to and I thought they were and then you showed up but I was so scared, I—I," Claire dissolved into silent tears as the terror of what might have happened to her at Mulciber's and Snape's hands sunk in. Elyse wrapped her arm around her shoulder and tried to comfort the girl to the best of her ability.

"It's alright," she promised. "Nothin's gonna happen ter yeh."

"How can you promise that?" Claire asked incredulously, not believing a word out of Elyse's mouth.

"Yer datin' Peter right?" She waited for Claire to nod before continuing, "That means yer one o' us now. Yeh've got all seven o' us lookin' oot fer yeh."

Claire looked at her doubtfully, "Do you really mean that?"

Elyse nodded, "I solemnly swear."

Claire smiled in response but didn't have anything else to say besides, "Thank you."

"It was nothin'," Elyse said nonchalantly. "Now let's git yeh back ter yer common room. Up yeh go," She said as she pulled Claire from the ground. Elyse escorted Claire back to her common room. Once Elyse was sure Claire was safe, she made her way to her own common room, fully intent on letting her friends know what Snape had done to the innocent girl.

Their reactions were expected the next morning when she told them of what had transpired the night before. Peter immediately went over to the Hufflepuff table to make sure his girlfriend was feeling better while the rest bristled indignantly.

"That pathetic excuse for a human," Ursula spat in disgust. "He can't get to us so he goes after someone we care about."

"I'm not saying I care about Claire but I sure as hell care about them going after Peter's girlfriend," Sirius clarified.

James nodded, "Snape needs to get a little taste of his own medicine."

"But how?" Elyse questioned.

They were all silent until Remus surprisingly spoke up, "Have you ever noticed that Snape writes a lot on his potion book. There's no way that is just all notes on who to make better potions."

Ursula nodded appreciatively at the idea, "You think he's made it his diary?"

Sirius and James both snorted in amusement at the idea. "Pansy," Sirius muttered.

"Let's do it!" James said enthusiastically, always looking for an opportunity to humiliate Snape. "We have the cloak, stealing his book should be easier than cherry pie."

"We need to plan more than that," Remus reasoned. "He'll notice if an invisible person grabs his book."

"I might have a solution to that," Peter said as he rejoined them at the table.

They all looked at him, surprised. "What?" Sirius asked incredulously. Peter was usually a hindrance during their plans but now he thought he was the solution?

Peter nodded nervously. "Yesterday when you were all at practice and Remus was doing his Prefect rounds, I worked on my animagus transformation—"

"Don't bloody tell me," James complained angrily. "You got it too?" James was especially bitter that Ursula was already making the change on the fly and now Peter was able to make the change.

Peter nodded in an odd combination of pride and tentativeness. "I can't make it like Ursula can but if I focus hard enough then I can."

Sirius pounded Peter on the back, "Nice going Wormy! Guess you're not as useless as I thought."

"Padfoot!" Elyse admonished.

"What? It's not like he's ever done anything useful before," Sirius retorted.

"Except get us caught," Remus pointed out.

Sirius pointed at Remus victoriously, "See! Moony agrees with me and therefore I am right! Case closed!"

"If you all would stop acting like a bunch of idiots," Ursula interjected, "you might have noticed that Snivellus has just gone off on his own."

All of them perked up and watched keenly as the greasy Slytherin left the Great Hall after breakfast to do whatever someone with no social life did on the weekend. James stood first, "I'll run to the room to get the cloak. Padfoot, Moony, go make sure that he doesn't travel far. Use some of that prefect power you were given to try to control us for its real purpose. Muse and Lucky, make sure Lily is occupied so she doesn't interfere with our plan. Wormtail, go rat-out somewhere."

With that, they all dispersed and went to complete their designated tasks. Elyse and Ursula didn't have to look hard to find Lily. The vibrant red head was sitting out by the lake, letting her toes dip into the cool lake water. The weather was just beginning to get chilly and this would undoubtedly be one of the last times she would be able to enjoy this luxury.

"'Ello, Lily," Elyse greeted as she and Ursula sat on either side of their roommate.

Lily smiled, though it looked a bit forced. "Hello Elyse, Ursula."

"Aw, what's got you down in the dumps? Lilies aren't meant to be sad," Ursula said as she quickly conjured up some brightly colored lilies from a simple dandelion from the grass.

Lily laughed as she accepted the flowers, "It's nothing really." She muttered as she admired her banquet of bright orange, neon yellow, fuchsia pink, and electric blue lilies. "You know Ursula; you really are talented at transfiguration. I envy your skill."

Ursula snorted in an unladylike manner, "Lils, trust me when I say, you shouldn't envy anything about me. You're the brilliant witch of our age – your skills and intelligence are legendary."

"I kin vouch fer 'at," Elyse added. "Now 'at we've boosted yer confidence, mind tellin' os woot's wrong?"

"Have you ever had something that was too good so it was bad?" Lily asked them.

Elyse and Ursula both shook their heads and Lily sighed wistfully, "Then I _do_ envy you; both of you."

"What's this about?" Ursula inquired.

"I feel like a bad person admitting this, but Gabe is driving me up a wall! He's always attentive, always complimenting me, always agreeing with me, and always being so bloody perfect that it's maddening!" Lily burst. "I know I'm complaining about what most people dream about but it's not as wonderful as everyone thinks. But I want someone who challenges me, who isn't afraid to argue with me! Someone who will drive me mad but at the end of the day, he is the most wonderfully infuriating person in the room." Lily sighed and shook her head, "I'm just being foolish."

Elyse and Ursula shared a look over Lily's head, both of them with a knowing look in their eyes. There was one person that fit her definition of a perfect guy and she openly _loathed_ his entire existence. If only she could see what the rest of them could. Elyse wrapped her arms around Lily's shoulder, "Aww, you'll find 'im one day."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Easy for you to say – you've already met your Prince Charming. How long have you been dating Pat?"

"Almost three years now."

"See! Your relationship has survived everything! Going to a boarding school, you being a witch and him being a muggle, you living in a different country for most of the year!" Lily shook her head in amazement. "How is it possible that you have a better relationship with Pat when I can barely sustain one with someone from a different house?"

"A lot o' work," Elyse admitted. "But we've also know each otha' fer years; since we were wee little things."

Lily laughed, "That's adorable! You're going to be one of those couples that end up married for the rest of your lives. It'll be like a fairytale."

There was a flash of pain and sadness in Elyse's eyes before she quickly masked it and nodded, "I'm only sixteen."

Lily shrugged, "There's lots of couples that have graduated and got married already. A fair few already have children. Did you hear Molly Weasley had another baby? Gabe's cousin Tristan Clearwater, a Ravenclaw who graduated three years ago, and his wife just had a baby girl. I think Claire and Sean just eloped over the summer and I've heard that she might be pregnant. With the war going on, people aren't exactly waiting."

"It's kind of odd when you think about it," Ursula mused out loud, "This war is literally pitting families against each other; families that have been around for generations are falling apart. Yet at the same time, new families based on the basic instinct of love, protection, and safety are being brought together. This whole fight is driving everyone together and apart at the same time."

"Love and war have been associated for such a long time together," Lily responded, concentrating on train of thought. "It would be impossible to find one without the other." She swung her legs back and forth, causing ripples to appear beneath all of their feet.

Ursula quickly took off her shoes and socks and let her feet dip into the cool lake water. She sighed in contentment, letting what Lily said sink it. Elyse was about to respond when she shrieked in terror, "RAT!"

The shrillness of the scream caused Ursula to jump and when she felt a little bit of fur crawl across her hand, she lost her balance and barely had time to take a breath before she was submerged in the Black Lake. She faintly heard shouting above the water but decided to just stay underneath the calm water for just a moment. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand to quickly cast a bubble head charm. She felt the bubble of air form around her head and felt that it was alright to open her eyes.

The view was absolutely breathtaking. The water seemed alive as different fishes swan past in their schools, the tops of seaweed tickled the bottom of her feet, and in the distance there was the soft and melodic song of the mermaids. There was a sudden movement to her right and she spun around just in time to see the Giant Squid swim away gracefully to a deeper part of the Lake. Ursula, looking down as seeing that she wasn't that far away from the bottom, allowed herself to sink lower until she was resting at the bottom of the lake, watching the sun's rays dance in the water.

A sudden disturbance surprised her slightly. The displaced water rocked the calm surface as two figures jumped into the lake. Ursula swam to the surface and yanked on Remus's leg and poked Sirius in the side before she broke the surface, effectively getting rid of her bubble head charm.

"What the hell?!" Sirius demanded.

Ursula shrugged, "Bubble head charm." She answered as if that explained it all, which it did.

Sirius glared at her and splashed her, "You seriously need to stop doing that."

"I told yeh she was fine," Elyse commented from the surface. Ursula looked up at the crowd that had gathered. Elyse was still sitting in her same position while James was leaning against the tree looking as calm and collected as ever. Peter was missing but Alice had joined them and was sitting next to Lily looking over the edge of the water, both of their faces etched with concern.

"Are you alright, Ursula?" Lily asked in concern.

Ursula nodded once before dipping back down into the lake to get the hair from her face. She didn't know what happened in the few seconds she was underwater but she saw a huge splash as Alice was pulled in by Remus, Elyse by Sirius, and James tightly holding onto Lily as he too jumped into the lake, despite of Lily's protesting screams.

"POTTER!" Lily screeched indignantly as she resurfaced, causing everyone in the vicinity to cover their ears, wincing in pain.

James however seemed completely undeterred by the anger directed at him. He ran his hand through his hair (his hair it seemed, like to defy the laws of common sense as it was soaking wet yet still standing up in a complete mess) and smiled cheekily at Lily, "Aww, come on my Water Lily, have a little fun. How many times have you gone swimming the Black Lake?"

"Never," Lily answered immediately. "It's against school rules to go swimming in the Black Lake."

James smirked deviously, "And doesn't that make it better? Feel the rush, the risk and the excitement, the adrenaline of not getting caught? It's a brilliant feeling isn't it?"

He swam closer to Lily and she looked at him as if she was seeing him for the first time. "You know what I think is brilliant?" Lily asked, for once without malice or insult.

"What?" James asked, thrilled that he wasn't being hexed or cursed or hit or threatened with detention.

"This." She drew her hand back and with a quick push forward, sent a small wave that knocked James over.

When he resurfaced, sputtering and missing his glasses, he glared in a joking manner in Lily's direction. She giggled slightly at the look on his face.

"You're going to pay for that, Evans." He swore seriously though there was a joking grin on his face.

Lily just laughed and quickly started swimming away, gaining distance. "You're going to have to catch me first, Potter." She said over her shoulder with a subtly sly smirk on her face.

James stared at her with an awed and adoring look on his face that he would later deny. "Oh, I will Lily Evans. Even if it's the last thing I do." He muttered to himself before he dove under the water to catch his water flower.

* * *

Their free time quickly started to disappear soon after that. All of the teachers started piling on more and more work for the OWL students as the leaves started to change color. The only professor that seemed to take pity on them was Pod. He was still giving lecture after lecture on how to fight and what's the best way to attack. James and Sirius had taken a liking to their new professor and would actually pay attention in that class. It was mainly because the three had come to an agreement that as long as they didn't cause too much trouble in class, then they could always work together whenever the class did practical application days.

It was after one such particular day when Remus was packing up a little bit late. The full moon was later that night and it was already beginning to take a toll on him. He knew this was possibly the last moon that he would spend by himself as Sirius was extremely close to finally getting a full transformation. With Ursula and Peter already to make full transformations, that only left Elyse and James to figure out how to transform themselves into their animagus form before the holidays that were only three months away.

The story behind Peter's first transformation was comical by everyone's standards. When he turned into a rat to try to steal Snape's potion book, he was just as subtle as he was when he was human meaning he was louder than a horde of hippogriffs storming the castle. Snape, who suspected something almost immediately when he saw Remus and Sirius walking towards him, had kicked Peter down the staircase when he noticed the rat trying to climb into his bag. Startled and disoriented, Peter ran blindly out of the castle in a panic. Their plan abandoned for the time being, they raced outside in time to hear Elyse scream in terror as Peter unexpectedly jumped onto her lap and soon ran towards Ursula, causing the already startled girl to fall into the lake.

Looking back, it would have been funnier if they all hadn't received detentions for swimming in the lake. Not helping his impending illness due to the full moon was the full riot act lecture McGonagall gave him for breaking the rules as a Prefect (Remus had explained to her that Lily was forcibly thrown into the water and therefore wasn't at fault; James bought him a chocolate bar in thanks) and for not stopping his friends from breaking said rule.

Remus shook his head fondly at the memory. Had McGonagall and Dumbledore honestly think that he would be able to "control" his friends now that he had a prefect badge? If anything, that seemed to encourage them to create more mischief and mayhem.

He was brought back from his thoughts when his arm started to spasm and caused him to drop his book. He groaned, knowing that he was taking way too long to get out of class and that he needed to get to the hospital wing soon before he collapsed. His legs felt like they were jelly and he tightly gripped a desk and went to pick up the book when a pale had shot out and grabbed it.

Ben handed him the Defense book, awkwardly shuffling his feet as he said, "Here you go."

Those were the most words Ben had spoken to Remus in more than ten months. To think that this time last year, Remus would sit for hours on end and just talk with Ben, about school, Ursula, new prank ideas, the new baby his sister was about to have, or anything that caught their fancy.

"Thanks," Remus replied cautiously, not sure what was going on. That was the most elaborate conversation they had since the funeral and Remus had no idea what to say to the friend who had broken Ursula's heart.

"Um, Remus, could I talk to you?" Ben asked hesitantly.

Remus was about to respond when there came loud shouting from the hallway. Remus, knowing that the rest of his friends had just left moments ago in that direction, quickly grabbed his bad and hurried out of the room.

He found Sirius and James pointing their wands right at Snape's gargantuan, hooked nose.

"—at the clock tower at dusk and you'll find out, _Snivellus_." James sneered, glaring intensely at the offending Slytherin.

Snape smirked sardonically, "I look forward to it, Potter." With that, he spun on his heels, his cloak trailing after him in an obnoxious, dramatic way.

Sirius's upper lip was curled back in disgust, "Why the hell did you hold me back, Prongs?"

James smirked shrewdly. "Don't worry, Padfoot. When he gets to the clock tower, he'll get what is coming to him."

The pair shared eerily similar smiles as they silently began to plot what they were going to do. Remus, not sure what had just transpired, walked over to Elyse and Ursula. "What just happened?"

It was Peter that responded from not that far off, "Snape shoved past us in the hallway and made some comment about you and Ursula."

Remus cocked an eyebrow up in confusion and surprise as he turned to look at Ursula. She shrugged nonchalantly, though he could see she looked troubled, "He was just saying something about me working my way around this group and someone needing to warn you because you're next."

The other three shared a look as if they were deciding if they should tell Remus what else was said. He sighed and motioned for them to continue. Elyse picked up the story, "He also said something about findin out woot yeh are doin once a month."

Remus paled, recalling James and Sirius planning to meet Snape later that night. They wouldn't…would they?

"James! Sirius! Tell me you aren't about to do what I think you're going to do!" Remus demanded, furious that they would even suggest telling Snape his deepest and darkest secret. He could only imagine what Snape could do with that knowledge…

James rolled his eyes, "It all depends on what you think we're going to do Moony. Just trust us."

"Yeah, I'd love to trust you expect for that fact that I turn into a bloody werewolf in four hours and I'm not exactly thinking like a rational human being!" Remus whisper shouted heatedly.

All of them look concerned at Remus's short rant. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin was looking clammy, and his legs were visibly shaking from the strain of trying to hold up his body.

"Come on, Mate. Let's get you to the hospital wing," Ursula said as she took Remus's arm. James took the other one and they bid farewell to their friends. They had to half drag Remus up the last two flights of stairs after his legs nearly gave out. Although Remus was taller than the both of them, James and Ursula wrapped his arms around their shoulders and supported his weight evenly that way.

"Merlin, Moony, lay off those chocolate frogs."

"Says treacle tart boy," Remus muttered through his feverish haze.

Ursula snickered. No matter what, Remus was still as sarcastic and witty as ever. James pouted but took pity on his ill friend and didn't respond. When they finally got to the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey quickly had them set Remus down on a bed as she quickly administered some potions that would help ease his transformation later that night and give him a little bit of strength.

"No visitors!" Madame Pomfrey barked at the pair. "We don't know if what he has in contagious."

Ursula barely suppressed an eye roll. James, however, naturally gave into temptation and responded, "I think all three of us know what he has isn't exactly a normal disease."

"That is up for me to decide young man," The matron tartly responded. "Now leave before I get Professor McGonagall up here to report you."

James waved her off, "Been there, yelled at for that. Minnie adores me so it's okay."

"We'll be leaving," Ursula quickly interjected, grabbing James roughly by the arm, and yanked him violently from the room. Once they were out of eyesight, Ursula smacked the back of his head. "Why must you antagonize that poor woman?"

"Poppy? She adores me. I keep her life interesting."

Ursula rolled her eyes and decided that a change of subject was probably the best idea, "So what are you going to do to Snivellus tonight? I know you aren't going to tell him Remus's secret."

James snorted, "Hell no. Sirius and I found this potion. It's not exactly original or complex but it will work for the first stage. It's this potion that looks like water but when the liquid is poured on the victim; it cleans and cleans and cleans until the person is literally sparkling. It only stops when it wears off or the castor stops the spell. Sirius and I worked on modifying it all this week. We were planning on tricking Snape to go up there to rendezvous with Lily or some other bait so we could get him but he basically volunteered for this."

"Not that bad, a bit uncreative, but overall not bad," Ursula deemed.

James shrugged, "We weren't able to finish it because of Quidditch practice Wednesday. Mind helping me finish?"

"Sure what the hell, we don't have school tomorrow anyway."

"Brilliant."

Taking a detour, the pair walked to the alcove that they had practiced their animagus transformations in for the past three years. For fun, Ursula started running down the empty hall and tried morphing into a dog midrun. It was a bit choppy and she almost tripped on her own feet (paws?) at one point but she happily started running around the room as Muse, quickly getting the hang of it. She heard James muttering, annoyed, at the other end of the hallway due to her advanced hearing.

Knowing that James was a bit touchy that he hadn't been able to make his transformation yet, she walked over to him and nuzzled her head against his leg. He laughed slightly and patted her behind the ear, causing her tail to inadvertently wag.

"You know, you make a much better dog than person, Oi!" He shouted indignantly when she nipped at his ankle.

She quickly changed back and gave James a look, "Thanks, Prongs."

"Anytime Muse. Seriously, I like you much better when you can't talk back."

"James?"

"Yes?"

"Either get back to the potion or be prepared for me to bite you."

"Potion it is!"

A little over an hour later, they walked out of the hallway towards the Clock Tower to set the trap. All they had to do was set it on top of the top arch and the next person who walked in would be drenched in the cleaning solution that was also modified to cause extreme itchiness and for horrible acne to appear all over the exposed areas, a little trick they added at the end.

"Let's get back to the Tower. They must be wondering where we are by now."

They were walking past the court yard when they saw a dark figure hurriedly walking in an opposite hallway towards the open grounds. They exchanged a look, a bad feeling settling in their stomachs as they hastily made their way back to the common room. When they walked in, they saw Elyse and Peter working on homework while Sirius was smirking smugly in the armchair.

"Sirius," Ursula asked, a horrified feeling spreading through her entire being. "What have you done?" she asked hesitantly.

They all turned to look at Sirius who was grinning like the cat who got the cream. "About to give Snivellus a right scare, that's what."

James's stomach clenched painfully, "YOU WHAT?" He roared, furious at what he was hearing.

Sirius looked startled at James's reaction. "What, James? I just told Snape so he could a little peak at a werewolf, piss himself, and be on his merry way."

"Sirius…Remus will kill him." Ursula breathed in shock. "He'll maul him to death because you couldn't keep you Goddamn mouth SHUT!" Ursula's shout got louder and louder as the fury built up inside her.

James ran his hand quickly through his hair. He looked out the window, seeing the sun just about set. "We might have time to get Snape out before Remus transforms. Elyse, get McGonagall and Peter find Dumbledore. I'm going to get him out." James turned and was almost out the door when Sirius grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

"You can't honestly go try to save that Death Eater Wantabe?"

James glared at Sirius and wretched his shoulder free, "I'm not about to make Moony a killer." '_And no matter how much I loathe his existence, Lily cares for him_.' a voice in his head said.

With that, he turned around ran out of the common room, praying that he got there in time. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he sprinted through the castle. Another set of footsteps joined his and he turned to see Ursula running alongside him.

"I'm not about to let you face a werewolf alone," She reasoned.

Knowing her resolve was unshakeable, and though he would never admit it, he hadn't been able to transform yet so he knew he couldn't face a werewolf alone. He can to a skidding turn as he burst out of the castle doors, his feet barely touching the ground as he practically flew towards the Whomping Willow. Once outside, it was painfully obvious that the full moon had just risen and they had seconds, not even minutes, before their friend (in Remus's mind) murdered a fellow classmate because of the foolishness of his friend.

"SNAPE!" James shouted when he saw the figure standing among the now still branches of the tree. "GO AWAY!" He shouted.

Snape turned once before quickly opening a small hatch and sliding into the darkness.

"Shit!" James shouted in anger and fear. This was so horribly wrong. James may have hated Snape but if something happened to him now, James didn't want to have his blood on his hands. Ursula transformed next to him and continued running, trying to catch up to James after stumbling into her dog form. It was then that James realized it wasn't just Snape and himself in danger. Now was the ultimate test to see if an animagus could survive a werewolf bite without being cursed. This was a completely untested theory they had. It was supposed to be tested when there were (originally four) three large animals that would go up against the werewolf.

She could die as well. Hell, James realized that if he didn't get Snape out fast enough, he might not even get out.

Blood rushed through his ear drums as he dove into the hatch to the tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw a lone figure frozen in absolute terror towards the end.

"Snape," James hissed, knowing what Snape was probably looking at. "Get the hell out of here."

"Werewolf," Snape said in shock. "Lupin's a werewolf."

Knowing what he was about to do was incredibly life threatening and stupid (and very Gryffindor) James ran forward and grabbed Snape's arm. "Get the hell out of here!" He shoved him back towards the hatch. Ursula was now running down the tunnel. James heard a low growl getting closer and closer to him as he practically dragged Snape down the tunnel towards safety.

"Get out!" James shouted shoving Snape forward. The Slytherin still seemed to be in shock combined with repulsion.

Remus – the werewolf – growled loudly and the floor started vibrating as his heavy footsteps raced towards them. Ursula took a running leap and tackled the werewolf, who was only feet away from James's back, giving the two boys some extra time to get to the exit.

Two sets of barks, growls, snapping of jaws, and the occasional whines along with the breaking of walls and thuds of someone being smashed against the wall echoed throughout the long and tunnel. Ursula tried pushing the werewolf back to the Shack but one semi large dog was no match for a powerful werewolf.

Quickly, the two boys reached the end of the tunnel but was too late. The werewolf had over powered Ursula and she went flying down the tunnel. Snape stared in horror at the bloodthirsty wolf bore down at them. The werewolf raised a paw to slice Snape in half but it never got the chance. James shoved Snape back and used himself as a shield. "Snape, go!" James shouted before he was thrown violently to the side.

Snape didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled out of the exit and away from the Whomping Willow. The werewolf looked like it considered going after the fresh pray but James knew what would happen when it got out; there were still students out in some of the open corridors. Remus would become the monster he always thought he was.

Unable to allow that to happen, James coughed through the blinding pain. He looked down, wondering what had happened to his chest, when he saw the four slices reaching across his entire chest down to part of his stomach. His head started spinning and it wasn't just from the hit to the head he had endured.

The werewolf seemed to make up its mind to go after its already injured prey instead of chasing the fresh one. It snarled ferociously in James face. His heart thudded painfully against his chest, realizing that this was it. He was going to die at the tender age of fifteen by his friend's alter ego because of another friend's stupidity.

Hell, he thought he would die in the War if anything! He was going to die in a valiant show down of good versus evil and have the world remember his sacrifice. He had so much more to do, such great things to accomplish! His brilliant mind would go to waste, he would never graduate Hogwarts, he would never pass on the Potter name to his children. In a flash he thought of his parents how utterly devastated they would be having to bury their only child.

Vaguely, he wondered if people would miss him. He wasn't exactly kind to others. Merlin knew half his teachers would privately be relieved he wasn't causing mayhem in their classes anymore. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Lily would miss him. He wondered if Snape would ever tell her of James's sacrifice to save the slimy git who stuck his nose in places it didn't belong.

But it would be worth it, he thought in that moment. Lily may have hated him, but as much as it pained him to admit, she cared for Snape. James could die and she would be able to move on with her life easily but she would be devastated if something happened to Snape. Even if he died, he didn't want her to suffer. And maybe, just maybe, she would find out that he did this all for her and it would be worth it.

With that last thought, he looked up at the wolf whose teeth were only inches from his neck. He felt the blood rushing through his body, the frantic pulse audible to him, and his head was literally pulsating in pain from the hit that had only occurred a few second ago.

Then out of nowhere, just as James accepted his fate, a flash of black and white fur tackled the werewolf to the side. The werewolf howled indignantly as Ursula bit into his shoulder. The werewolf was distracted long enough for James to shakily get to his feet.

If asked to describe the most terrifying moment of his life, this had to be it. James had never seen a werewolf before, only knowing what they looked like through pictures in textbooks. It truly was the thing of nightmares. The beast roared at Ursula, raising one of its paws to throw her. She jumped just in time but that didn't stop the werewolf. It was possibly the worst thing she could have done because as she leaped up, the werewolf was able to clamp its powerful jaw on her back. Ursula's shriek of pain stopped James's heart. The werewolf shook her side to side a few times before launching towards the wall. Her head cracked against the wall and she fell to a heap on the ground.

For a horrifying moment,James thought that she was dead. He stared at her still form praying that she would give him some sort of sign she was alive. His prayers were answered when her tail wagged back and forth twice.

Unfortunately, just as she had assured James she was still alive, she had also alerted the werewolf of the same fact. Knowing that Ursula wouldn't be able to fight against the werewolf again, James didn't think before he said, "Oi! Moony! Over here!"

The werewolf turned and snarled menacingly at James. With only one thought, James closed his eyes and hoped that his harebrained scheme worked.

In what was a combination of sheer adrenaline, fear, some skill, and a fair amount of accidental magic, James felt his body explode outwards. He felt the top of his head hit the ceiling so he bowed his head forwards, just in time to catch the wolf in his intricate arrangement of antlers. Using sheer strength and fighting through the horrific pain building on his head and with every slice of the claw the werewolf was able to land on his back and sides, he slowly pushed the werewolf back into the shack.

Once in a large space, James quickly lifted his head hoping to only throw the werewolf to the side (no matter how evil the beast was, James couldn't help but remember that it was his friend). Not used to his new strength or abilities, he threw the werewolf a little too hard and the beast was knocked out cold on the floor.

James stood still for a moment, waiting for the werewolf to move again but it never did. When unconscious and not trying to kill him, James almost felt sorry for the wolf. It looked so sad and lost and downright heartbreaking. A soft and pitiful whining broke James's thoughts. He turned to look over his shoulder for Ursula but was blinded by the pain that shot through his entire body. If felt like someone poured acid on a gaping wound on his back.

Struggling to concentrate long enough to change back, James finally managed the feat. He staggered to his feet, heavily favoring his left leg since his right had a deep cut going from just under his hip to about his knee. He found Ursula, completely human again, unconscious and struggling to breath. He painfully knelt down next to her and shook her shoulder.

"Ursula, we need to get out of here."

Her eyes fluttered open, revealing her extremely and unevenly dilated eyes. James swore under his breath, recognizing the injury.

"My-my b-b-b-ack, James. My b-back." She sobbed, tightly grabbing his hand as her lifeline.

"We need to get out of here," he said as tears of pain leaked from his own eyes. "Moony could wake up at any second."

"I-I can't move….too much…too much p-p-pain," Ursula stuttered. She was getting whiter and whiter by the minute and James notices not only the blood pool quickly spreading under her, he felt blood flowing freely down his mangled leg.

"We have to get out, Ursula. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but we have to move," he begged her. Her eyes were starting to glaze over and she was struggling to stay conscious.

"Okay," Ursula whispered with the most strength her voice possessed.

The pair slid towards the wall and both slowly and painfully lifted themselves up. Both were panting from exhaustion and torture. Excruciating pain shot up James's leg that was so horrible that he whimpered and nearly fell over. Ursula hobbled over and using each other and the wall, they painstakingly made their way towards the exit.

"How do we get out?" Ursula asked, half delirious from blood loss, half delirious from pain.

"Hatch," James gasped. Miraculously, the hatch remained open. The only problem was that neither had the strength to climb out. He heard people shouting in the distance and instantly hope was swelled in his heart. They had a way out; they were going to live!

"DOWN HERE!" James shouted up with his last remaining strength. The room started to spin after he finished but he was rewarded by hearing the footsteps approach with much more urgency.

"James? Ursula? Are you two down there?" Professor Dumbledore's voice asked through the hatch.

"Need help. Can't get out. Injured," James was able to say. He knew his sentences weren't making sense but at that moment, grammar wasn't as important as the blood pool appearing under his leg again.

Suddenly, the hatch expanded and it was soon large enough for both Dumbledore and McGonagall to walk in. With a flick of her wand, McGonagall trapped Remus in his room. James nearly crumpled to the ground in relief. They were safe.

Dumbledore conjured up a stretcher for Ursula, who had fallen unconscious. McGonagall walked over to James. If it had been another situation, James would have felt the need to comment of the curlers in her hair and the extremely worried and concerned look on her face but in that moment, James was eternally grateful to see his Head of House.

The edges of his vision were starting to go dark and it looked like McGonagall was walking in slow motion on the wall instead of the floor. His ears were fuzzy and he could just barely hear her say his name as she laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Ello, Minnie. Fancy seeing you here," He muttered before the darkness won and everything went black.


	9. Too Far: Part Two

_I am so, so, so very extremely sorry that this took so long. I feel like I owe you all an explanation. I honestly intended for this to be posted about two and a half weeks ago. But the day I sat down to start writing, there was family emergency. A relative of mine was put in the hospital and it has been a very, very rough three weeks. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining or making excuses but you can probably imagine why I wasn't exactly able to write a chapter about someone suffering from a life threatening illness/injury in a hospital. That is also why I haven't responded to reviews or private messages in a while. I am running around with school and band and then dealing with that on top of everything else..._

_But know this, I am going to try my hardest to get the next chapter up in about a week. This is just a portion of what I wanted to write but it just felt right to end it where I did. _

_I hope you all enjoy this horrifically overdue update._

* * *

"I've never seen James be still for so long," Peter mused out loud as he sat next to James's bed while Elyse leaned against a nearby wall, "He's always moving, you know? He's running this way and that and causing mayhem over there while messing around with Sirius somewhere else. Even in his sleep I've never seen him this still."

"Make a habit ov watchin' yer friends sleep?" Elyse quipped sarcastic, trying to accommodating to Peter's need in the situation. He had only just stopped shaking. She thought that maybe he just needed to speak out loud but his comments were getting to be annoying.

Peter didn't seem to hear her comment and continued on with his commentary, "It's weird seeing him look so weak. He's so powerful, magically and physically, that he seems invincible. But he's just as weak as the rest of us. The craziest part is that his friend caused this; two of them. It was his friends who are less powerful and strong as him yet they were still able to bring him down. I mean, Remus almost killed him. _Remus_! I've seen them duel in Defense and James bests him every time. It just took Sirius messing up and James almost died. And it wasn't even like he tried to defend himself – he just let this happen to him. He's quick to forget his own life when protecting the life of someone he cares about, not that he would ever admit it. He's so predictable and weak"

"Peter!" Elyse barked, disturbed and angered by where his musings had taken him. Peter started, like he forgot she was there. He flushed red and nervously shuffled his feet against the floor.

"S-s-sorry, my thoughts got away from me."

"Obviously," Elyse muttered. She turned away from Peter and looked down at James's pale face. His eyes were scrunched up in slight pain and there was a still fading scar running down the side of his face. James was lucky in that sense. Most of the cuts he had received would fade with time or at least be unnoticeable unless someone was looking for them.

Elyse shuddered when she remembered seeing his blood soaked body being carried into the hospital wing. She had barely told Madame Pomfrey what was going on when the doors slammed open and Dumbledore and McGonagall had run in levitating two stretchers between them. Elyse gagged when she saw James's leg. Bits of bone were visible under the tattered remains of the skin and there were bits and scraps of what looked like muscle hanging out of the wound. There were three parallel claw marks that stretched from his left shoulder to a few inches above his right hip bone. It seemed like all his appendages were covered in horrible scratches and bruises. His pallor skin made him look like a corpse. If it wasn't for the ragged and gurgled breaths he struggled to take, Elyse might have mistaken him for dead.

Ursula was in no better condition. She had been lying perfectly still, her arm at an odd angle but even more concerning was blood covering half of her face, originating from somewhere under her hair. But what Elyse couldn't understand was why it seemed like she was lying in a pool of blood that continued to get deeper and deeper.

They found out soon enough when James regained consciousness for a few moments and muttered Ursula's name and "Bites, head." After a quick examination, Pomfrey discovered Ursula was suffering from a severe concussion and possible bleeding in the brain. But that wasn't the worst. On her back, in two perfect half moons, the imprint of Moony's teeth was clear under all the blood.

Elyse was brought out of her memory of the previous night when the hospital door flew open and Lily came running over.

"What's going on?" Lily demanded worriedly. "Professor McGonagall showed up this morning and took Sirius and Severus to see Dumbledore. Then we heard rumors that Ursula and James were on the brink of death after trying to kill Sev last night."

Elyse shook her head, mentally cursing the Hogwarts rumor mill. For a bunch of gossips, they occasionally got alarming close to the actual truth. "That's not woot happened, Lily. I swear ter yeh, it may've looked like it, but woot actually happened is far from 'at. James n' Ursula saved Snape's life."

Lily looked down at James's prone state, her pitying gaze intensifying as he started struggling to breath in his sleep. Elyse immediately went over to the nightstand and gave him a bit of the potion Madame Pomfrey issued to him to help him breath. She had been given permission to give him small dosages while Pomfrey had to step out.

"Where's Madame Pomfrey?" Lily asked, knowing the nurse rarely allowed students near sick students, let alone allowing them to administer medicine. She looked with growing concern around the room when she didn't see her other roommate resting in one of the beds, "Where's Ursula? Why isn't Remus here with you both?"

Elyse gulped and fought off the intense worry that had plagued her all night, "She's not 'ere. She had ter be taken ter Mungo's. Remus transformed last night…"

Lily paled considerably at that, "You don't mean…?" Lily trailed off.

"She was bitten." Elyse admitted softly.

"Oh my God." Lily gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes widening in shock. "Do her parents know?"

"It might be alright," Elyse quickly added, "Mrs. Potter showed oop last night wit Mr. Potter 'n she went wit 'em ter teh hospital. Mrs. Potter's been a healer fer so long, she might have a chance." Neither of the girls even considered Ursula's biological parents, knowing that the Potters were more her parents.

"James's lucky he only got it in the leg," Peter piped up from the side of the bed.

Lily looked at James as if she never realized that the rumors did hold some truth, a great deal of truth, "What?"

"His leg. Moony got a nice swipe at his leg. Madame Pomfrey said that one of his claws tore the muscle clear off the bone and severed some major nerves. They don't know if he'll be able to walk normally again."

"What?" Lily asked in shock as she moved a little closer towards James's prone form.

Peter nodded, "From what I heard them telling his dad it looks like he definitely won't be going back to the Quidditch team this year. Then there's the blood loss they need to worry about plus the internal damage that he sustained and then they were talking about the scars and if they will cause him any problems in the future."

"What about Ursula?" Lily asked, although she never took her eyes off of James.

Elyse shook her head sadly, "We don't know."

There was silence in the hospital room. The only sound was the occasional ragged breathing from James. Lily would flinch every time he began to struggle until she finally broke the silence, "Could you tell me what happened? At least, what you know?"

And so Elyse did. She explained all of the events that had transpired the previous day. She of course left out certain details, such as the animagus change, but for the most part she told the truth to Lily. Because Lily knew the truth about Remus, Elyse even mentioned that it was a werewolf that they fought to make sure Snape got out. She shuddered when she recounted the condition of James and Ursula when they were brought into the castle. The arrival of James's parents was one of the most difficult things to mention.

His parents had apparated into the hospital wing (Dumbledore lifted the wards to allow transport from there to St. Mungo's) right before the healers transported Ursula out. Mrs. Potter had nearly fallen apart at the sight of her son and the girl she loved as a daughter. Then for her to make a choice to stay with one of her children…Elyse could barely imagine being in that situation. Seeing as Ursula's situation was slightly more serious, Mrs. Potter went with the healers and Ursula to St. Mungo's while Mr. Potter stayed with James. He had just left a few hours earlier to have a meeting with Dumbledore and Sirius, before planning to switch places with Mrs. Potter.

"James…James did that for Severus?" Lily asked is shock, still not able to believe that the bullying toe-rag risked his life to save someone he openly loathed.

Elyse nodded, "He didn't want anyone 'urt. 'N he wanted ter protect Remus."

Lily chuckled lightly as she looked down at James in what might be considered a proud expression, "Who would have thought? He actually has a heart."

"And it belongs to one person." Elyse added.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked tepidly.

"Nothing. Nothing," Elyse trailed off with a slightly mischievous grin.

A light snoring sound caused them both to jump. Peter had fallen asleep in the chair. His neck was bent at an odd angle and he looked horribly uncomfortable. Lily looked up at Elyse and seemed to notice for the first time how exhausted the pair looked. They were still wearing their clothes from yesterday and there were dark circles under their bloodshot eyes.

"Have you two had any rest?" Lily asked astonished.

Elyse shook her head slowly, blinking rapidly as the sleep finally caught up to her. "We wanted ter stay wit 'im."

"You two will get sick from exhaustion!" Lily chided in a gently way. "Go rest. I'll sit with James."

"Are yeh sure?" Elyse asked incredulously.

Lily nodded. "I was just going to work on a potion with Sev today. It's actually a very interesting theory we wanted to test, adding a slight bit of peppermint to the Elixir to Induce Euphoria. We believe it might lessen the effect of the shrivelfig reacting with the castor beans so the drinker doesn't get so loopy but we are concerned about the consistency of the potion…oh never mind. I assume Professor Slughorn figures we won't be there but if you would just let him know somehow?"

Elyse, who had been nodding through Lily's miniature potion lesson, nodded once more decisively. She trusted Lily and she was _exhausted_. "Will do, Lils."

After shoving Peter in the shoulder, jolting him awake, the pair disappeared from the hospital wing to get some much needed sleep.

Lily claimed the chair that Peter had just recently vacated, settling herself in. Realizing that she didn't have anything to work on and she couldn't just get up leave, she decided to examine the potions sitting on the side table.

Most were basic healing potions; some of them were ones she had brewed under the supervision of Professor Slughorn. She found no fault in any of the potions but when she was observing the Calming Drought. After a quick sniff of the vapors, Lily instantly felt her senses dull. She shook her head to clear it, surprised by the potency of it. Making sure James wasn't showing signs of needing immediate medical care, Lily walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a pinch of ginger.

As she walked back over to his bed, she explained, "This is the main ingredient in the wit-sharpening potion. Lord knows you don't need any of that but if you add a bit of ginger to the calming drought," she sprinkled a little into the calming drought before swirling it around, "it should keep you mind active while you can't move and allow you to sense what is going on around you."

Gently, she lifted his head up and fed him a little bit of the drought. She waited until she saw the muscles in his throat contract as he instinctively swallowed the potion before resting his head back against the pillows. "See? That wasn't so horrible."

James's mouth at that very moment twitched into a grimace. Lily rolled her eyes, "You're incorrigible, you know that right? So bloody infuriating." She shook her head, thinking of all the times he had driven her mad or bullied someone. "But still, after knowing what you just did," she reached out and tried to flatten out his hair which looked even wilder than it ever had before, "I can't be mad at you. You risked your life to save my friend. I never thought I would say this and maybe that's why I'm saying it when you're unconscious, but I think deep, deep, _deep_ down, you are one of the most brilliant, kindest people I have ever met."

She continued running her hand through his hair, trying to flatten it, just staring at his face. There was a scratch on the tip of his nose, still pink but healing quickly. It was an odd injury since the cut seemed to start under the tip of his nose and move up.

The door opened and Lily jerked back, spinning around to see who entered. Madame Pomfrey was supporting Remus, who was barely conscious. The nurse quickly put Remus in the nearest bed, where he instantly fell asleep, before rushing over to James's bed. At that moment, she seemed to realize that the red hair she saw currently was not the same red she left.

"Miss Evans! I wasn't expecting you here," she said as she quickly bustled around her to check over James's vitals.

"I heard what happened. Madame Pomfrey, if you don't mind me asking, why is James still here? From what Elyse said he just has a lot of cuts and bruises. You can usually heal that in seconds."

Madame Pomfrey hesitated and Lily quickly interjected, "I know he was attacked by Remus last night during the full moon."

"You know of Mr. Lupin's condition?" She asked astonished.

Lily nodded, "I figured it out a few years ago. I've never told anyone." She assured.

She didn't seem all that surprised that Lily figured it out. "He was injured by a magical creature. The wounds cannot be healed by simple spells or potions. The degree and number of the cuts make it even more difficult. It's a miracle. I don't understand how he got that close enough to a werewolf to be slashed by the claws yet not be bitten. Even the placements of the cuts don't make sense."

"What do you mean?"

"He has claw marks on his back that go from his lower back to his shoulder, like the werewolf reached over his shoulder and pulled up. There are cuts on the insides of his arms that are all equally deep. Almost all of his injuries are exclusively to his back, the outside of his legs, and his arms. There was almost nothing in his chest and the only mark on his face was one scratch on his nose. I just don't understand how he got those injuries."

"What about Ursula? Is she infected?"

"I don't know but I fear the worst."

There were footsteps at the door and a greatly aged and borderline decrepit Mr. Potter hobbled through the door, leaning heavily on a cane. However, when he saw Lily sitting at his son's bedside, his face lit up, "Ah, Miss Lily Evans, I presume? It is nice to get a face to match the name."

"How…?"

Mr. Potter laughed as he walked closer, "James never stops talking about you. I must say, you are one remarkable witch."

Lily blushed at the compliment. "Thank you Mr. Potter."

"Don't thank me," he said as he slowly settled himself into a nearby chair, "thank James and Ursula. From what I understand, they saved your friend's life even though they personally hate the lad."

"What did exactly happen?" Lily tentatively asked. "I know what Elyse told me, but that's just one side of this. She couldn't explain _why_ this all happened."

Mr. Potter sighed, "It was truly a misunderstanding on James's part. He and Sirius had been planning a simple prank for the last few weeks that involved dumping a bucket of some cleaning solution on his head. But yesterday your friend made a comment about Ursula being a slag and Sirius snapped and wanted revenge. So Sirius went on his own and told Snape how to get into the Whomping Willow, thinking that Snape would just have a scare and run. Obviously, that isn't what would have happened. When James and Ursula found out, they rushed to the Whomping Willow to get your friend out. Snape says that he saw only James and a some sort of wolf dog but that's it. Ursula must have joined later."

"Have you heard any news about Ursula's condition?" Lily asked.

He nodded, a look of deep concern settling over his already worried eyes. "Eva contacted me by floo and said that by some miracle Ursula is showing no signs of developing lycanthropy. She's prepping her for transportation and so Ursula should be back within the hour."

Lily was just about to ask how on Earth it was possible for Ursula to not be infected when she was bitten by a werewolf when James moved his hand up and down slightly, like he was looking for something, "Lie—lee. Lie—lee" He muttered.

Mr. Potter smiled when Lily instantly slipped her hand underneath his son's. James's hand tightened slightly and he settled back into a peaceful sleep. Lily looked back at Mr. Potter with a questioning glance. Mr. Potter waved her off, "I'll just leave you two alone. I doubt the kitchens have moved since I've been here. Would you like anything?"

"No thank you sir."

"Chocolate covered strawberries it is."

Lily's mouth dropped slightly in shock that he somehow knew her favorite desert. He chuckled to himself, a glint of mischief that was prevalent in James's eyes twinkled in his own, before hobbling out the doors and leaving the pair of teenagers alone.

* * *

It was almost midnight when Elyse awoke from her 'nap' that only felt like five minutes. In reality, it had almost been eight hours. When she left the hospital wing, she had been so wired from everything happening, she simply couldn't fall asleep. She wasn't sure if she dreamed it or not, but she remembered hearing Lily speaking to Alice about Ursula being brought back to Hogwarts under request of her mother. Mrs. Potter had demanded that both her children be in the same place and she be allowed to care for them.

Wanting to know if that was true or not, Elyse snuck out of her dorm and into the boy's to steal the invisibility cloak. She felt a stab of guilt taking James's possession when he was unconscious in the hospital wing but she knew that he would approve of her use of it.

When she finally got to the hospital wing, she was surprised to see a figure holding vigil next to Ursula's bed, which was to the left of James's. In the pale moonlight she wasn't able to distinguish any characteristics. When she slowly walked to the other side to face him, she nearly squeaked in surprise.

"Ben," Elyse said in shock as she took off the invisibility cloak.

Ben jumped, his head snapping up and his entire body tensing as if he was under attack. The second he saw it was Elyse, he settled back down into his chair. "'Ello Lucky." He said monotonously. He looked at her for just a second before he went back to watching over Ursula.

Elyse was silent as she took the chair between James and Ursula. The only sound was the long and faint breaths of the two hospital patients.

"I feel like this is partially my fault," Ben admitted softly, breaking the silence.

Elyse stared at him in confusion, "How do yeh figure 'at? Yeh'd nothin' ter do wit 'is."

Ben shook his head, "They went up against a werewolf in animagus forms; just the two of them and that is why they look like hell."

"Woot does 'at've ter do wit yeh?"

"I've made my transformation, Elyse. Imagine if there was a lion with them. Do you think they would still be in this condition, barely hanging onto life?"

Elyse didn't even hesitate, "Yeh'd be in teh next bed over. Yeh can't blame yerself. None o' us saw 'is comin', even me."

Ben shook his head, his face clearly saying that he blamed himself. Elyse, knowing that he would never accept any of her explanations, stayed silent until she decided to switch topics.

"She missed yeh, yeh know?" Elyse mentioned casually, breaking the silence. Ben's head snapped up. "She was destroyed after teh funeral. It killed 'er inside."

Ben nodded once, his chest constricting at the painful truth of her words, "I know." He admitted softly.

"She were just so sad but she 'id it well boot not well enough. Sometimes she'd cast silencin' charms on 'erself o' around 'er 'n just cry at night. She didn't know 'at teh spell wore off after she fell asleep. 'en we woke up teh next mornin' 'n she pretended 'at nothing was wrong."

He reached out and took Ursula's hand, "You have no idea how sorry I am. It was just so angry after Annabelle died…I just couldn't. It took me until this summer to realize how wrong I was. My dad sat me down after I used magic on that muggle kid and I just snapped out of it. Every day, every moment, I wish I could take back what I said and apologize. But where do you being? Ursula would hide under beds to avoid me, Sirius would attack me, I'm terrified of what James would do, Remus couldn't even look at me. My best friend and I couldn't look him in the eyes."

"Yeh start here," Elyse said. "If 'is tragedy's good fer anythin', 'en it's good ter show us 'at life's too short. Woot would've 'appened if somethin' 'appened ter one o' 'em. A stupid, petty grudge isn't worth it."

"When I heard about what happened, just the vague details, I was terrified. I thought to myself that I had lost her for good and I had to see with my own eyes she was alive."

Elyse smiled at the barely repressed emotion in Ben's voice. He looked down at Ursula tenderly and gently moved a piece of hair off her forehead. "Yeh still care fer 'er."

Ben nodded, "I never truly stopped."

"Teh same goes fer 'er. Look at woot's around 'er neck."

Around her neck, somehow, the necklace he gave her for Christmas the previous year was still visible. He smiled, hope and happiness filling his eyes, "She still wears it?"

"Never took it off."

Ben laughed softly to himself as he realized the truth in her observation. He lifted Ursula's hand and kissed the back of it, "She's got to get better soon so I can apologize properly. It's not fair to her."

"Not it's not."

He nodded decisively, "I'm going to fix this, Elyse."

"I knew yeh're."

The reconciled friends just sat there, looking over their two friends who were sleeping. Elyse had to give James a little more of his potion to calm his breathing and at one point, Ben started to hum a lullaby when Ursula appeared to start having a nightmare. Even though the chairs were more uncomfortable than a broomstick, she found herself starting to doze off. She pulled her feet up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, using her knees as a pillow. She closed her eyes when an unexpected breeze from an open window caused her to shiver. She heard footsteps walk towards her and soon she was enveloped in a warm cocoon.

She opened her eyes and saw Ben standing there jumperless. He pulled the blankets up a little higher around James and Ursula before returning to his own seat settling himself in his own chair.

"Ben?" Elyse said lazily as she snuggled into the warm fabric of Ben's jumper.

"Hmm?"

"It's nice ter've yeh back." She muttered before her eyes fluttered closed.

Ben smiled; the relief of knowing that at least one of his friends forgave him made it feel like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders.

"It's nice to be back." He said before he too joined the other three in sleep.

* * *

_The gang is finally all back together! I didn't want to have Ben just thrown back in and I imagine that Elyse would be the most accepting one since she has seen the future and knows that they all end up forgiving him. The thing with Peter's little rant at the beginning was just too perfect in my mind. For the first time, Peter is realizing that his friends aren't invincible and that their only weaknesses are literally each other. It is a textbook case of foreshadowing and it just had too many parallels for me to ignore._

_That's all I have to say. Until next time (which will hopefully be sooner than the last time)_


	10. State of Mind

Hola! I am going to keep this as brief as possible. There will probably be another note at the bottom. I just wanted to let everyone know who doesn't want to read a long author's note later that while this story has been taking me a long time to post, things should be moving faster since I planned out the next seven chapters already. Now I just have to find time to type them out.

That is all. Please enjoy!

* * *

Of the three, it was Remus who woke up first. He had been unconscious for two days, twice as long as he was usually was. As his vision cleared, he was shocked to see Ben sitting next to his bed reading a book.

"Ben?" He questioned. He tried to sit up but his body screamed with protest.

Ben's concerned face relaxed and he leaned back in relief, "Nice to see you awake, Remus."

"What happened?"

It wasn't that hard of a deduction to figure that something was wrong. He felt about fifteen times worse than he usually did. Some of his injuries, at least a few that he could feel, were ones that he couldn't have caused himself. And possibly most telling, Ben was there.

"Remus…"

"Don't 'Remus' me," Remus said bitingly. He felt anger and self disgust fermenting in his mind. "WHO DID I HURT!?" He demanded, hitting his fist against the bed sheets.

"You have to calm down. You're going to hurt yourself."

"Damn hurting myself! Who. Did. I. Hurt?":

Ben just stared at his distraught friend who was barely holding it together. The strain of him working his body too hard too fast was causing beads of perspiration to appear on his forehead, his skin looked pale and clammy, and his eyes were bloodshot. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he struggled to keep his rare and ferocious temper in check. It was the type of anger a person could only portray when they were trying to hide the mind numbing fear.

Unable to answer, Ben just looked to his right. Remus followed his gaze and saw the profiles of James and Ursula, both of them pale and still sleeping.

"No…." Remus said in horror. His eyes widened and he fell against his bed. "How? Why? Are they…?"

"How is a tricky story. Why is the same. What happened to them is a bit easier to explain."

And so Ben did. Elyse had told him what transpired the previous day so he just repeated the story for Remus. From Sirius telling Snape how to get into the Shack to James's and Ursula's bloody bodies being rushed to the hospital wing. With every word, Remus appeared to get paler and angrier. The hidden fury simmered just underneath the surface as he took in the story; what he had done to his friends.

"What about Sirius?" Remus demanded after Ben finished telling him of the role Sirius played.

"He's been banned from Quidditch for the rest of his life. He's also banned from Hogsmeade for the rest of the year. Until Christmas he'll be in detention every day for at least two hours and until February, he'll be on 'house arrest'. He'll only be allowed out of the Common Room to go to class or eat meals."

"And Snape?"

"Dumbledore has made him take an oath of secrecy that he will never tell anyone else or blackmail you with this information. You're secret is still safe."

Remus's eyes flickered towards the prone bodies on the beds next to him. He involuntarily flinched before asking, "What about them? Why are they still unconscious?"

Ben sighed, trying to figure out how to explain that Remus's worst nightmares and deepest, darkest fears had been realized. Remus seemed to pick up on his hesitation and slammed his hand against the bed, "Damn it, Ben! Don't try to lie to me! Just tell me what kind of monster I am!"

"You're not a monster."

"I'll be the judge of that," Remus snarled. "Just tell me what happened to them!"

"James is unconscious because his body is still recovering from the trauma. The werewolf tore off one the muscles in his leg and scratched him up real good. Because he was a stag and he was attacked by a magical being, the wound isn't healing quite as nicely as it would have in other circumstance. Right now, his body is trying to reattach the muscle but it is an extremely painful process so Madame Pomfrey gave him something to knock him out."

"And Ursula…?"

"Remus, she has a severe concussion. There was some bleeding in her brain but they got that under control fast. The thing is, Moony, you bit her."

All the air from Remus's lungs disappeared, as if even it was disgusted being inside him.

"But we think she was in her animagus form because…well…Remus, she's fine."

Remus's face froze, disbelief written was clear as day on his ragged face, "What?"

"They're chalking it up to she'd lost a lot of blood already and she was still bleeding so the lycanthropy just, bleed out of her, or something. But from what Elyse was saying, Ursula has transformed dozens of times so she was prepared to fight. This is good news."

"Good news!?" Remus asked outraged, "I don't know where your definition of good news came from, but THAT sure as hell isn't it!" he said as he furiously gestured towards the comatose pair. "Leave." He commanded.

"What?"

"Get. Out." With that, Remus turned his back towards the friend who had turned his own on him a year ago.

Ben sighed in defeat, knowing when the battle was lost. That and Madame Pomfrey was sure to be returning soon and he would rather face a Cerberus than the school nurse after he upset one of her patients.

When he returned to the common room, he found Elyse and Peter sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace with books spread around them. She was patiently explaining some concept or another to Peter, who still didn't understand. Sirius was sitting a little off to the side, working on his own homework.

"Remus is awake."

Instantly, all three of their heads snapped towards him.

"That's brilliant!" Elyse said happily. "How's he?"

Ben shook his head, "He knew something happened and then he saw Ursula and James in the beds next to him so—"

"So you played the true and loyal friend and told him everything, didn't you?" Sirius asked bitterly.

It had been that way ever since Sirius had walked into the Great Hall and saw Ben sitting with Elyse and Peter. Ever since their fight, Sirius had barely been able to sleep in the same room as Ben. They had an unspoken agreement; they didn't acknowledge each other's existence. In Sirius's mind, Ben had committed the worst of crimes and was lower than scum in his opinion. He hurt Ursula, his _sister_. She may have been older than him by a few minutes but Sirius still felt the brotherly protectiveness towards her.

"Sirius," Elyse chided.

"What? He conveniently wants our forgiveness right when we are down? If I didn't know better, I would think he caused this."

'No, yeh did so shut it." Elyse said bitingly before turning back to Ben. "Woot else 'appened?"

Ben shook his head and took the seat farthest away from Sirius. "James's leg is healing slower than it should. I heard Madame Pomfrey and Mrs. Potter talking and they are thinking of letting James go home to recover for a bit; see if he'll heal better. Ursula's still the same. Nothing is physically wrong with her minus the scars. She just won't wake up."

"She'll be up soon." Peter said. "James and Ursula are always okay. Right?" He added hesitantly, noting the looks exchanged by Ben and Elyse.

They got their answer on the fourth day.

It was right before dinner. Elyse, Peter, Remus, Sirius, and Ben were walking together down to the Great Hall. Sirius was sporting a fresh bruise on his jaw. The first thing Remus did when he got out of the Hospital wing was clock Sirius. Sirius had accepted the hit, knowing that he deserved it. Thankfully, Remus wasn't at his full pre-full moon strength when it happened.

Lily walked up to them, looking concerned and pale. Knowing that she had offered to spend the afternoon after classes Ursula and James, the quintet immediately went over to her.

"What?" Peter asked simply, knowing that no further explanation was needed.

"It's James. His leg got infected somehow." Lily looked flustered. Her face was flushed and worry lines were creased across her forehead. She anxiously crossed her arms and fiddled with the end of her braid. "His fever's making him delirious right now; he was muttering nonsense. Madame Pomfrey gave him some potions that should have helped but it just seemed to make it worse," Lily said tearfully.

It was horrifying. James was always this arrogant, cocky, prick who didn't give a damn about anything. Yet she watched and held his hand as he trashed about on the bed, crying out for his mother, begging her to take away 'the boiling' in his head. His mother had gone home for the night, for the first time giving into Dumbledore's demands to get some real rest, along with his father so no one was there. Lily offered what comfort she could to James as he suffered through his delusions. He was talking about 'hooves' and how he needed his fingers to get his wand. He started muttered something about wishing for a lion and the grim to help him. As time progressed, his delusions devolved more and more to the point of referring to his head as antlers and how much they hurt. It only stopped when Pomfrey got the worst of the fever under control.

It had taken almost half an hour. Then Mrs. Potter and Mr. Potter showed up, heart shattering fear etched on their faces. Lily left them alone, to stay with their son. Just before she left, she turned and saw James gasping desperately for the comfort of his parents as they rushed over to him.

"Let's go," Sirius said with determination. He was set on going to check on James. He hadn't been allowed up to the hospital wing yet but rules be damned, he was going to see his best friend if he was sick.

Lily shook her head, "They have him under quarantine now. No visitors for the next forty-eight hours."

"What about Ursula? She was next to James and if he got an infection…?" Ben questioned, worry clear on his face.

"She didn't have any signs of having anything wrong with her. She's just not woken up yet."

"Ursula'll wake up soon. She's been unconscious for five days now." Lily pointed out.

"But what if she doesn't?" Peter questioned.

Sirius glared at him so harshly the boy flinched and shuffled away from the fuming Black. "Sissy will wake up. There's no doubt. She didn't survive hell to end it like this." With that, Sirius turned on his heel and walked up to the hospital wing, completely ignoring the stipulation of his punishment and leaving behind his other friends, and sat by his sister's side the rest of the night.

It was the following day when things began to change. Elyse was sitting with Ursula, working in her sketch book, something she hadn't done in months, drawing a sketch of Pat's face. She was just finishing his eyes when a rustling sound caught her attention.

She turned and saw Ursula's grey eyes watching her. "You're drawing." Ursula rasped out, her voice hoarse from disuse.

"Yer awake," Elyse said in shock, relief, joy, and a countless emotions she would never be able to describe.

"You don't draw a lot anymore," Ursula commented.

Elyse quickly poured a cup of water for friend. She held the cup up to Ursula's lips and tipped the cup just enough for Ursula to take small sips. "I've'nt had teh time."

"Who's it supposed to be?" Ursula questioned.

"It's Pat, me boyfriend," Elyse said as she turned the sketch book to show her. "Woot do yeh think?"

"I dunno. I've never seen the bloke."

Elyse cocked her head to the side in confusion, "I've shown yeh pictures."

Ursula shrugged slightly, wincing in pain when it pulled on her still not completely healed wounds. She resettled herself a little higher of the pillows. Elyse reached over and helped her so she was almost sitting up. Elyse went to get a second glass of water.

"How do yeh feel?"

"Killer headache. My back feels weird and everything is blurry. Where're my glasses?"

Elyse handed Ursula her glasses before going back to getting more water.

"Yeh know, yeh gave a lot o' people a right scare. Mrs. Potter's got a few more grays 'n er hair now."

Ursula's eyes lit up with tentative hope, "Mrs. Potter is here?"

Elyse nodded, incredulous that Ursula would be surprised at that. "Why wouldn't she? James's 'ere too. Mr. Potter was just 'ere actually. Went ter git something ter eat." She mentioned as she started putting her stuff away. She had taken over a nearby bed as a resting spot for all her art stuff and knowing that Pomfrey would probably ban her from visiting again if she left it out, she didn't want to risk that.

Ursula smiled, "Does that mean Uncle Alphard is here too?"

Reaching halfway for her supplies, Elyse froze and slowly turned towards Ursula, wondering if this was some twisted joke. "Ursula, woot did yeh just ask?" She had to make sure her ears weren't playing a cruel trick on her.

The bed ridden girl's smile faltered, "Isn't Uncle Alphard here? I would've thought he'd have shown up with the Potters."

Elyse rushed over to Ursula's side and grabbed her hand tightly. She leaned over her slightly and looked her dead in the eye. "Woot's teh last thing yeh remember?" Elyse asked gravely serious.

Ursula's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, "School has just started. We've been here a couple months."

"When was teh last time yeh was 'n teh hospital wing?"

"When we had Flammel's Disease," Ursula answered tentatively, unsure of why Elyse was reacting the way she was.

"How long ago was that?" Elyse demanded, tightening her grip on Ursula's hand.

Ursula shrugged, beginning to get flustered, "I don't know, about two years ago. What're you on about?"

Elyse just shook her head before quickly releasing her hand and running to Madame Pomfrey's office. Within a minute, the matron was at Ursula's bedside.

"Miss Black, you've suffered a concussion. Do you remember why you are here?"

Ursula, looking more and more panicked as time progressed shook her head, "I don't know what the bloody hell is going on! I can't remember what happened!"

"It is common to forget the trauma right after waking up. We just have a few questions for you, alright?" When Ursula nodded, Pomfrey asked, "What house are you in?"

"Gryffindor."

"How many brothers do you have?"

"Two."

"Their names?"

"Sirius and Regulus."

"Do you remember the name of your Defense Teacher?"

"Clarke."

Madame Pomfrey and Elyse shared a discreet look. Elyse nodded sadly, knowing what was happening. Ursula seemed to pick up on their realization and panic started to seize her chest.

"And the one before that?"

"Pod."

The matron raised her eyebrow at that answer. "Tell me, do you recall the names of your teammates on the Quidditch team as of this year?"

"James Potter, Frank Longbottom, Sean Wood, Elyse O'Brian, JR King, and Liam McLaggen."

After a moment of silence Ursula let her chin fall against her chest. "I'm wrong, aren't I?" She asked meekly.

Elyse nodded solemnly, "Yeah."

Pomfrey rested her hand gently on top of Ursula's, ever the comforting nurse. No matter how terrifying she could be when she deemed you to be disturbing the healing of other students, she the person you wanted at your bedside when you were ill. "Ursula," she began gently, "it only appears that your memories from about the last two years and a little before that are just a little scattered. You'll be able to remember most of it."

"And the parts I don't?" Ursula asked tearfully.

"I'm sorry but they might be gone for good. We want your memories to come back naturally. We'll get your brother and friends in here to talk to you so they can help trigger memories and put them in order."

"Poppy actually encouraging visitors? World must be ending," Ursula joked lightly.

Elyse laughed despite of herself. With that one comment, she knew in her heart of hearts, Ursula would be fine.

She spent the next three hours sitting with her. They spoke of everything and nothing; their mere presence was enough.

* * *

When Ben saw Madame Pomfrey walk into the Great Hall during dinner, he instantly knew something was wrong. He stood up and met her halfway, the rest of the group following his lead.

"What's happened?" Ben asked, not giving the nurse a chance to speak.

"If you would please follow me," she motioned for all four to follow her. She led them away from the prying eyes of the student body. They walked towards the Hospital Wing. "I must warn you, the blow to the head seems to have caused some memory loss."

"What?" Sirius asked incredulously. He didn't wait for Pomfrey to answer before he went running down the hall. He crashed into the hospital wing and rushed over to the bed Ursula was currently lying in. He threw his arms around her, gently because of her injuries, but with enough force to knock the breath out of her.

"Promise you'll never do something like that again," Sirius demanded.

"I don't' really know what I did so I can't make that promise."

After sharing a brief look with Elyse, Sirius lost the silent debate and quickly explain what had happened. By the end of the story, the other four had joined them around her bed. Remus stood the farthest back, not able to deal with seeing the pain he inflicted on his closest friend. Ursula had been the first person to figure out his secret all those years ago. She was the first person outside of his family who hadn't been repulsed and disgusted by his condition. If he had just never spoken to them, if he had lived a miserable hermit like life for the last five years, if he had stopped them from becoming animagus, if he wasn't a monster—

"Remus," Ursula said sharply, jolting him out of his thoughts. "Don't you dare blame yourself. I'm _fine_."

He shook his head, "You aren't—"

"I feel like I could walk out of here right now. The only reason I'm not is because I'm not sure I can remember the right way to the Common Room." Ursula argued as she sat herself up and swung her legs off to the side. "Maybe I should go explore a little bit; see if anything triggers my memory."

She hid it well. Her face was relaxed and flushed a healthy blush. But Ben saw her one hand, hidden from Remus's view, tightly clenching the sheet. Her knuckles were white and her entire hand shook slightly as she held back the pain.

"No." Sirius moved in front of her. "You are staying in this bed."

"You should let her," Peter was cut off once again by Sirius's intense glare.

"Are you being purposely idiotic lately or are you just this dumb and we never noticed? Shut the hell up."

Peter looked abashed and hung his head. Ursula, wanting to get them away from her so she could drop the rouse, suggested, "Why don't you go see James? You guys know I'm fine; just check on him."

Elyse nodded and grabbed Sirius's and Peter's sleeves before yanking them towards the isolated area James was in. After one brief look at Ursula, who smiled reassuringly, Remus joined the other two.

Once Remus had his back turned, Ursula gasped in pain and let her body fall against the bed. "Bloody hell, what happened to my back?" She panted as she fought through the pain.

"That's where Moony bit you." Ben explained as he helped her roll to her side. He took the seat next to her. He was pulling his hand away when Ursula grabbed onto it

"I'm tired. Stay with me?" she asked softly, a fear of him leaving crashed over her. She felt her heart skip a beat at the thought, as if he was the second beat gone in her life.

"Forever." He promised before settling himself more comfortably in the nearby chair.

Ursula held his hand between her own and cradled it much like one would a teddy bear. With his other hand, Ben reached out and gently moved the hair away from her peaceful, sleeping face. Her heart beat thudded strongly against his hand, the beat lulling him to sleep soon after.

It was nighttime when he woke up. He sat up, trying to figure out where he was. In the dim light, a pair of silver eyes watched him. Ursula cleared her throat, "Did you sleep well?"

He laughed humorlessly, "Have you sat in these chairs lately?"

She smirked, "Nah, I got upgraded to an actual bed."

"They just like you better."

"Of course they do. It's about time you accepted that."

Ben laughed a little at their playful banter. Oh, how he had missed this. He had gone almost a whole year without this. Just the thought of it made his chest painfully constrict. He didn't know how he made it through that time.

"Ben? Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

Ursula grabbed one of Ben's hands and played with his calloused hands from years of violin playing. "I've asked McGonagall and Mr. and Mrs. Potter about where Uncle Alphard is. No one will tell me. And no one will tell me if Annabelle had her baby yet. What happened?"

Ben swallowed painfully. She didn't remember any of it. The pain and suffering he caused her could be forgotten forever, lost in the recesses of her mind never to cross her thoughts again. It was the perfect opportunity to start over. She had no knowledge of what happened after Annabelle died so he could say anything and she would believe him.

But he knew, in his own mind, that the memory would always haunt them. She could look at a picture, be holding his hand, say something about children, meet someone named Ronald, overhear a conversation; the possibilities were endless.

Yet he could save her all of that pain, all the anguish. She had already felt it once she didn't need to relieve it.

When he looked into her eyes, however, he knew what he had to do.

He told her everything. From the day his father declared a war against Voldemort to her running from him in at the Quidditch Pitch, he told her everything, sparing no detail.

She was silent for a full five minutes after he finished speaking. She had let go of his hand and had rolled onto her back so she could sit up slightly. She just stared ahead at the blank wall. It was unnerving to Ben.

His hearts were racing faster than Elyse going for the snitch. He felt sick, just waiting for her to yell at him. She was going to curse him, hate him, never speak to him again. There was no way she would be able to forgive this; it was all over. He had come all this way, figured out what was wrong with him and tried to change only to lose Ursula because of himself. He folded his hands together and clenched them together tightly; squeezing at different intervals. He mentally prepared himself to hear the dreaded words that would send him into the abyss of despair. What she said next was _not_ what he was expecting _at_ _all_.

"I remember that I had a rule that I allow friends one free chance to mess up, right?" She asked without looking at him.

Ben nodded once, unsure of what that had to do with what he just told her, "I've used mine up our first year."

"Really? I don't recall." She turned her head to the side, a small smirk at the corner of her lips. "To the best of my knowledge, you've never used one before today."

"Are you serious?"

He couldn't believe it. His body was literally numb with disbelief.

"No, that's my twin," she responded cheekily.

Ben laughed at the atrociously overused pun. Actually, it was usually Ursula who would hit Sirius for making the joke.

"In all seriousness," Ursula added, the smile falling from her face, "I allow my _friends_ one free chance. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Hope died in his chest, his shoulders physically deflating. He shouldn't have been surprised but there was a small part of him that wished that Ursula would have forgiven him on the spot and picked up where they left off, no matter how unrealistic it was. But in his heart of hearts, he would rather be her friend instead of nothing to her.

"I understand." He said softly, seemingly resigning himself to his fate. Ursula smiled at resettled herself into her pillows before falling back asleep. Ben walked over and pulled the blanket up around her, protecting her from the cool air. "I understand for now," he said to her sleeping form. "It doesn't mean I'm going to move heaven and hell to change that. Just watch me." Ben promised her. He laid a gentle kiss on her forehead and was gone. It wasn't the end; just merely a second beginning.

* * *

First thing first, I hope you all enjoyed this and if you did, I would love to hear what you have to say. If you have nothing to say, just keep on reading these chapters. Seriously, just seeing the number of people reading each chapter is a bit of an accomplishment for me.

I wanted to address some questions/comments in reviews left for the last chapter:

Thank you to everyone who offered their thoughts/prayers/condolences for my family. Thank you.

livestrong617: We're going to see a bit more of James in the next chapter so there might be a little scene between Lily and Mr. Potter where he reveals how he knew her favorite desert. And I have to say that Ben has to be one of my favorite's too. I love the other two and Ben was actually the last one I conceptualized before writing this out. I didn't even think I would love writing him as much as I do. On a slightly connected train of thought, to answer your question, I am a tenor saxophonist (though I have played bari up to soprano sax) and I am also a clarinet player and have been for the last three years (I have to play both to perform in the pit for musicals). I have to admit that my least favorite instrument is a flute, but that is mainly just because I like the reed sound you get from clarinets, oboes, saxophones ect.

MarauderonFire: Don't worry! I have no plans at all to ever abandon this story. This is going to be finished come hell or high water. I actually haven't thought of a couple name for Ben and Ursula. I think someone once suggested Bensula or something like that. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them! P.S. I hope I got this chapter in one time before you got institutionalized. That would be really unfortunate. But, anywho, thank you for your wonderfully fantastic review!

Arina-Peachy/yruniwylio/kerreb7: I'm glad that you all have enjoyed this story so far! I hope that you liked this chapter just as much as you liked that last one.


	11. Awake

When James first gained consciousness, the first thing he was aware of through the haze was the pressure on his hand. There were muffled shuffling and he could pick up on some muted voices. Slowly, extremely slowly, the tingling in his leg grew more and more intense. It wasn't _painful_ per say; it was more like his leg was waking up after falling asleep.

"James?" The voice clearly asked.

Instantly he identified the voice. His heart involuntarily skipped a beat. He would know that voice anywhere. Realizing that he actually was hearing her voice, he mentally smirked to himself; she was willingly sitting with him.

"James, if you can hear me squeeze my hand," Lily pleaded.

He willed his arm to move and was disenchanted when he barely felt his pinky move a little. Putting more strength and concentration into it, he finally succeeded in tightening his hand around her slender fingers.

There was brief laugh of sheer elation, the sort one laughs when a heavy burden has been miraculously lifted. "Mr. Potter! He's awake!" Lily said happily.

The left corner of his mouth quirked up for a millisecond as a comical thought entered his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut and almost inaudibly groaned. The hand tightened around his own and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Oo?" He croaked out.

Lily's beautiful face scrunched up together as she tried to decipher what he muttered. He cleared his throat and asked in a clearer voice, "Who?"

"Who? Who what, James?"

"Who are you? Who's James?" He asked, his voice as soft and confused as he could possibly make it.

Lily's face paled, making her already milky white skin look almost translucent. "You don't remember?" She asked in a horrified whisper. James could have sworn her heard her mutter "too" at the end of the sentence but he wasn't sure.

A full blown smirk stretched across his face, "I remember I'm a sexy beast, Lily-Love."

In an instant, her expression changed from heartbreaking melancholy to raging fury in an instant. She ripped her hand out of his and glared at him with an intensity that would have sent a weaker man to his grave, "You arse! I can't believe—I was worried—you are—ugh!" Lily wasn't even able to finish her sentence she was so infuriated with him before she spun on her heels and stormed out of the Hospital Wing without a second glance.

James turned to look at his silently laughing father.

"Was it something I said?"

His father's only response was to snort loudly before bursting out laughing.

When Madame Pomfrey finally decided that he was well enough to leave the hospital wing (and personally feed up with his antics) she officially released him under one stipulation.

"No chance in hell." James said vehemently. He glared at the offending crutches.

Madame Pomfrey gave him a look and thrust the crutches towards him again, "I will not repeat myself again. You have to use these to walk."

"I can walk just fine, Poppy."

James swung his legs to the side of the bed and tried to stand up. He smirked confidently when he was able to stand straight up. "See? Perfectly fine."

"Take a step," Pomfrey ordered.

He barely lifted his leg before suddenly the floor tried to greet his face. Madame Pomfrey caught his shoulder and pushed him back to sit on the bed.

"It's either the crutches or a wheelchair."

"Crutches are good."

He begrudgingly grabbed the offending objects and shoved them under his arm. He stood up and took a few jerky steps. He stopped and readjusted himself before nodding his head in Pomfrey's direction. "See ya Poppy!"

"James Potter! Get back here!" She shouted at his retreating figure.

He was fully intent on continuing his escape when he was suddenly stopped right in his tracks. McGonagall and Dumbledore were standing there, one with a stern face and the other with an amicable and calm face.

"Going somewhere, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked genially.

James nodded once, "Just back to the common room so I can get started on all the homework I missed for Transfiguration. I wouldn't want my professor cross at me." He winked at McGonagall whose expression never changed.

"Get back into the hospital wing, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said sternly. "I highly doubt Madame Pomfrey has released you."

"She didn't." Pomfrey said crossly from behind.

Realizing that he had been boxed in between the three teachers, James sighed and held his hands up in surrender, resting his armpits against the crutches to keep his balance, "You've caught me. Take me in coppers," he said in a mock Western American accent.

Once he was situated back in bed, he looked up at the three adults, "Why're you here?"

"We would like to know what happened the night of your injuries." Dumbledore said.

James raised an eyebrow, "Don't you know what happened by now? The rest of them have probably told you the story and filled in all the gaps."

"That is the problem, Mr. Potter. There are certain aspects to the story that simply do not line up."

"Excuse me Professor, but are you accusing all of us of lying?" James asked in mock childish innocence.

McGonagall's teeth clenched together tightly as she refrained from snapping at the cocky, injured student. She would be lying to say that she wasn't utterly horrified when she first saw him covered in blood and barely conscious in the passageway under the Whomping Willow. Until she heard from Madame Pomfrey that James would recover, she would spend every waking moment thinking about one of her most beloved students. It was no question that she loved all her students but she couldn't deny that James, the arrogant and cocky boy, had somehow weaseled his way into her heart. Not only was he a singularly gifted wizard, especially in the field of Transfiguration, he had one of the truest hearts she had ever had the pleasure of teaching.

"That is not what we are suggesting at all, my boy!" Dumbledore assured kindly. "We just want to hear what happened after you and Ursula Black left the Gryffindor Common Room."

James regarded them suspiciously, "Ursula's already woken up. Why didn't she tell you?"

The two professors shared a look with Madame Pomfrey. James got a horrible feeling in his stomach.

"Miss Black is unable to answer our questions at this time," McGonagall said with a great deal of repressed pain.

"What's wrong with her?! No one bloody told me anything was wrong!" James shouted, his concern blatant on his face for his friend.

Madame Pomfrey immediately stepped forward. "You need to calm down." She ordered him but instead, he simply directed his frustration towards her.

"Why didn't you tell me?! I've the right to know what happened to her; I'm as good as family!"

There was a beat of silence before Madame Pomfrey nodded. "Miss Black cannot answer our questions because she cannot remember."

All anger and annoyance flew from James's person. He fell against the bed and look up at the adults in resigned shock. "Does she remember _anything_?" He asked in a mere whisper.

He thought of all the memories with the raven haired girl he loved like a sister. All the pranks, the Quidditch practices, the days just talking, figuring out how to become an animagus, _everything_. Is it possible that she forgot everything? Could she be walking around right now, a shell of who she was? He wondered if she remembered this summer, running away to his house. Sirius? Is it possible that when she woke up Sirius called her name and she didn't respond? Elyse? Did she even remember her closest friend? Remus? Peter? Her roommates? With the force of a thousand bricks, James realized why Lily had reacted the way she did. He felt sickened when he realized how absolutely _vile _his little joke was.

"She remembers most of her life. It seems that only the last three years are mixed up, getting worse as time gets closer." McGonagall explained in a terse voice.

Dumbledore picked up on how distraught James was becoming at learning of his friend's – no _sister's_ – plight. "We will leave you to rest. Perhaps it was not wise to speak to you so soon after you have woken."

James simply nodded, trying to process everything. The three adults left the teenager alone. It wasn't until later that afternoon when Madame Pomfrey went to check on him did she realize that it was never wise to leave someone like James to his own devices, as she discovered his empty bed with a note hastily scribbled left on the pillow

_See you Poppy_

When James finally got to the Gryffindor Common Room, he nearly attempted to hug the Fat Lady. He had never realized _how_ _many_ stairs there were in this school. By the time he got to the last staircase, he was nearly ready to collapse. After nearly two weeks of not using his legs and a severe injury to one of his leg, he was lucky that he was able to walk with the crutches.

"Password?" The Fat Lady asked.

Any thought of hugging the guardian of his common room instantly vanished from his mind, "Are you kidding me?! I've been bloody unconscious for the past two weeks and you think that I know the password!"

The Fat Lady turned her nose at his insolent behavior, "No password, no entrance."

James was just about to fire back a ready retort when the entrance suddenly opened from the other side. Elyse nearly threw herself at James, almost causing the pair to fall backwards on the stairs.

"James! Finally!" She laughed happily as she nearly crushed his still sore ribs.

His deeper laugh joined her tinkling laugh as he wrapped his arms around her the best he could while still keeping the crutches under him. Once she let him go, she turned to guide him back to the common room but he grabbed her arm and held her back.

"Elyse, I've heard about Sissy…" He trailed off.

Elyse smiled a little when she heard him refer to Ursula using Sirius's brotherly nickname for her but didn't comment on that. She simply nodded, "She's remembered a few things boot we've 'ad ter fill her in on woot 'as 'appened. James, there're some thing yeh need ter know…"

"I don't care. I just want to sit down." Without waiting for Elyse, he quickly entered the common room and nearly toppled over when he saw a pair sitting on the same sofa.

"Wha—?" He stared in shock at Ursula reading a book just a seat cushion away from Ben.

"'at's woot I was tryin' ter tell yeh. Ben's back."

"Why the bloody hell are you allowing this!?" He whisper shouted at her. "You know what he did to her!"

Elyse glared at James at the accusation. "Yeh don't think I've'd stopped it if I could? She don't remember anythin'!

Her shouting had drawn the attention of the occupants of the room. Ursula was out of her seat in a second and tightly hugging James. Sirius, Peter, and Remus joined and clapped James on the shoulder while Ursula still hugged him, welcoming him back. Over Ursula's shoulder, James glared fiercely at Ben, who had stood from the sofa and walked a little closer.

Ursula may have been able to forgive him but James sure as hell wasn't about to.

Returning to classes was a nightmare. Not only was everyone harassing him about his injuries, questioning him if he was returning to the Quidditch team, trying to catch up on two weeks of missed O.W.L classes, and having to try to walk around with crutches in the busy hallways, James's patience was wearing thinner and thinner by the day. He considered himself extremely independent, is was infuriating having to rely on other people to carry his books, help him up the stairs, and sometimes even stand up or sit down.

The incident also seemed to incite a renewed fervor between the rivalry of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Snape had obviously told as much as he could without telling about Remus's condition. Slytherins were furious that some Gryffindors had tried to kill one of their own. In turn, the Gryffindors were furious that Snape was spreading obvious lies about the Gryffindors.

It was late November in Transfiguration when James finally snapped.

It began as a regular class. James was sitting next to Sirius (who James had almost instantly forgiven for what he did) and glaring at Ben sitting in front of them next to Ursula. It bothered James to no end that Ben simply wormed his way back into Ursula's good graces when she couldn't remember why he was even in her bad graces.

Today was a test day and James had no problem finishing early. It was a simple theory test; he could have aced it even before his accident. Once he was done, he struggled to grab his crutches out from under the table. The noise attracted the attention of most of the class and they turned to stare.

"Oi, mate, do you want me to bring it up?" Sirius asked him in a whisper.

All the frustration that had been building in him for the last three weeks was at his limit. He took a deep breath to calm himself before he glared at Sirius and shook his head. He hobbled to the front of the room and handed the paper into McGonagall.

She held onto it a minute before she placed it on her desk. "I would like to remind you Mr. Potter that your career meeting will take place in exactly one week in at two in the afternoon. Take a look at some of these flyers before hand," she handed him a small stack of folded pamphlets.

James looked at the offered pieces of paper, "Shouldn't you just give those to Sirius to carry? I mean, it's not like I can do anything myself anymore." He felt a bit of guilt at snapping at McGonagall but if he got one more look or one more offer of help, he was going to push someone off the clock tower.

McGonagall simply raised an eyebrow. "I was not aware that you can no longer do anything for yourself. If carrying these to your seat proves too difficult for you then I will not expect you to have some idea of your future by next week. Deal?"

James laughed for what felt like the first time in forever and grabbed the papers. "Deal Minnie."

McGonagall didn't even bother trying to correct James's nickname for her. James made his way back to his desk, nearly losing his balance when Gabe Abbott stood up as James was walking past. Thankfully, he caught his footing, but the dozens of stuttered apologies grated against James's ears.

When he got back to his seat with the crumpled papers, he purposely jabbing Ben in the back when putting his crutches down. Ben jumped and turned to see James mock frowning at him apologetically. "Sorry mate, just returning the favor."

"Should have found something sharper," Sirius muttered, also glaring at Ben. James smirked and shared a hidden fist bump with Sirius

For the rest of the period James flipped through the pamphlets. Most were from the Ministry. The only one he even bothered to read was for the Auror department. His father had been an auror and a reasonably famous one at that. He was so liked and successful he became the head of the department. But James added it to the throw out pile – he wasn't ever going to work for the Ministry. It didn't matter that Jay White was the Minister and a man that James did trust; he didn't trust the rest of them. There were a few other jobs mentioned on other papers but nothing caught his attention. It seemed like everything was too…_restricted_…for him.

When the bell rang, Sirius instantly gathered up his books and went to grab James's when he was shoved away by James.

"What're you doing? Give me your books."

"No. I'm sick and tired of everyone taking care of me." James grabbed his books, violently shoved them in his bag, and quickly grabbed his crutches to start towards the common room.

It had been a struggle at first. That is, stairs had quickly become his worst enemy. Not only did they have the lovely habit of moving, they would often times be filled with other students who loved to stare and point at the 'cripple' struggling up the steps. James, who usually loved the spotlight, never wanted the attention for something like this. It was humiliating to see people staring at him with a mixture of pity and curiosity. He was James flippin' Potter; not this. No, he was never _this_.

"So what did you think of question ten?" Ursula asked as she walked next to him, the only person in the school who wasn't afraid of an angry James.

James just snorted, "It was obviously a trick question; you can't make food appear out of nothing. The law of conservation of—DAMNIT!" James yelped as he misjudged how high he had to lift his good foot and he ended up falling flat of his face before falling down about half the stairwell.

"JAMES!" A number of people shouted. Instantly he was surrounded by friends and strangers alike who were trying to help him up.

It was then that all his frustration boiled over. He shoved the closest person away.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" James shouted. "I'M NOT A BLOODY INVALID!" He snatched the offered crutch and threw it over the edge of the railing, smirking as he heard a satisfying shatter as it fell multiple stories before crashing into the stone floor.

"Get out of my way," he growled at the closest person, who unfortunately happened to be Lily. He didn't seem to realize that as he shoved past her, limping horribly. He gasped as he bent over to pick up his bag. His leg felt like it was on fire and so, so very weak. He grabbed onto the railing and took a few deep breaths before regaining his bearings and continued towards the common room. It didn't matter that it was lunch time and he was starving; he didn't want to deal with anyone.

Wisely, no one followed him and let him walk up the stairs on his own. By the end he was panting worse than he ever had after a Quidditch game. His eyes stung as beads of sweat rapidly fell down his face, matting some of his hair to his forehead. He struggled to lift his leg over the small step into the common room, after shouting the password at the Fat Lady.

At the sight of the sofa, he nearly toppled over in relief. There were two second years sitting there after class but James quickly rectified the situation when he barked, "scram!" at them. To say that they ran would be an understatement at the speed they moved.

James turned and groaned out loud as the pressure was finally relieved off his throbbing leg. He places his hand over the spot the initial injury occurred and he could feel his pulse through his robes and trousers. He still refused to believe that he would never be able to play Quidditch again the same way he had. He was not about to let this injury stop him; Quidditch was his passion.

He closed his eyes and leaned back, trying to repress the fears that were festering in his chest. They were horrible. Every time he had a bad day, they seemed to come back ten times stronger. _You can't do it. You're not strong enough. You can't fix this. You're broken._ It played like one of those muggle records Elyse had shown him.

Just as the emotions were about the drown him, a slight movement of someone sitting down next to him jostled him out of his thoughts. He was about to snap at the person but when he saw Ursula, he nearly sagged with acceptance. If there was one person in this entire castle who understood him and what he was going through, it was her.

"I wish I could help you James," she admitted. "it seems like I got the good end of the deal. My problems are only in my head." She shook her head and stared at the warm fire, majestically dancing away.

"I wish that too. Me forgetting, I mean. That wouldn't be so bad," James mused out loud.

Ursula chuckled humorlessly, "The only thing worse than forgetting is remembering."

"What do you mean?" James asked curiously. It had seemed to him that Ursula was coping well with her memory loss; not having problems talking to people and assimilating back into regular life.

Ursula turned to look when the entrance opened again and the rest of the group walked in. Elyse saw the pair talking and guided the rest of the group up to the boys' dorm. Remus looked at them in concern but he didn't say anything else and Peter looked like he wanted to go over to them. Sirius would have gone over to talk to his sister but Elyse had a firm grip on his wrist and pulled him up the stairs. Ben slowed and seemed to be having an internal debate if to go over to Ursula. But then he saw James's fierce glare and he too went up to his dorm.

"I've been remembering." Ursula admitted softly. James looked at her in shock. He hadn't known that her memories had started coming back. "And you know what the worst thing is? I wanted to _remember_. I wanted to remember everything that happened to me and everything. Now, I just want to go forget it all again."

"I'm so sorry," James said comfortingly, placing a hand on top of hers as her eyes filled with tears.

She sniffled and smiled at the simple action. "I woke up thinking my family loved me and was together, that all my friends were together and happy, Annabelle was about to have a baby, we've just won the Quidditch Cup, I've been able to make the animagus transformation. Everyone filled me in on what happened in the past year and while I knew what happened, I didn't _know_. Now I remember all the curses from my mother, all the hate from Reg, and every single cutting word from Ben's mouth. It _hurts_. Goddamnit, James, did it always hurt this bad?" she begged him. Silent tears ran down her face as she tried to stifle her cries.

James leaned forward and gathered her in his arms. She grasped the front of his shirt tightly as he held her tight. Not having an answer to her question, he simply kissed the top of her head in a brotherly fashion before tightening his grip on her as she took comfort in his embrace.

"We have potions and defense next right?" She asked weakly, once she was able to speak coherently again.

"After we technically go to History of Magic." He confirmed.

Ursula leaned back and looked at him suspiciously, "Technically?"

James smirked and struggled to stand up, "I'm starving. Let's go get lunch."

Ursula laughed and James threw his arm over her shoulders. He was too proud to admit it and Ursula would never say that he was using her as his crutch, as he had thrown his over the stairs.

After a hearty meal in the kitchens, they duo made their way to potions. Slughorn had spoken to them privately once they returned to class and actually apologized to them for the actions of a member of his house. He thanked them for putting their own personal safety aside to save a Slytherin from a horrible fate. With the thanks, of course, came an invitation for the Slugclub. Ursula had been about to refuse when James accepted on behalf of both of them. Ursula had nearly shoved him down the stairs but when he mentioned that Lily was in the Slugclub, Ursula smirked when she saw his cheeks go slightly pink.

They walked into Potions with just minutes to spare. James and Ursula had been paired together to try to catch up on the work and the bench they got was the one a few rows up from Lily and Snape.

It was a simple enough class. James and Ursula were writing out different spell ideas they wanted to use on some Slytherins before break. Out of the corner of his eye, James saw the greasy slime ball start walking down the aisle with a vial of the potion he and Lily had just finished.

James timed it just right that he stuck his good leg out just as Snape was walking past. As intended, Snape went tumbling down the remaining steps. Sirius's raucious laughter filled room as he saw the whole thing transpire. Even Remus was trying to hide his smile. Ursula was practically falling out of her seat she was laughing so hard as Snape's now potion filled face glared at James with a scathing and loathsome intensity.

"POTTER!" He screeched as he reached for his wand.

James held his hands up in mock innocence, "It wasn't my fault, Snivelly. Maybe you should look where you're walking." He said, glaring at Snape the entire time.

The one person James blamed for this entire thing; the injury, the emotional trauma he, Ursula, Remus, Elyse, Peter, Lily; hell, basically everyone experienced, was Snape. If Snape had just kept his nose out of their business, if he had just listened to him and left the shake before Remus transformed, everything could have been avoided. Yet he had. He had ruined _everything_.

Unfortunately, before James could hex Snape, Slughorn walked over and help Snape back to his feet and ushered him back to his work table. "I'm sure it was a simple mistake. Tell me Mr. Potter," he turned his attention to James, "would you maybe want to work at a larger work station so you have more room to stretch out your leg?"

James pretended to think it over before he shook his head, "No thank you Professor, I'm content right here."

"Very well. Just be a little more careful next time."

James nodded in mock sincerity, "Of course Sluggy."

Slughorn laughed and patted James on the shoulder jovially, "Oi! You've got quite the spirit in you! Sluggy!" Laughing to himself at the nickname, Slughorn continued to make his rounds around the room. Ursula was still shaking with silent laughter.

"Sweet Merlin, that was priceless," she laughed as she wiped the tears out of her eyes.

"I wish someone got a picture of that beauty." James said wistfully.

Ursula nudged his arm and then nodded in Elyse's direction, "I think she might've."

Elyse, as if she knew what was being said across the room, nodded and pointed to her bag where her camera was situated. James snorted and continued working on the potion.

Oh, how he loved blackmail.

Later that night, after all the classes had ended and practices were over, a silent shadow was making its way across the grounds. Underneath the invisibility cloak, accompanied by the Marauder's Map and his broom, James made his way to the Quidditch pitch. The team hadn't done that horrible in his and Ursula's absence and Sirius's expulsion from the team. Elyse had taken over as temporary captain and filled the beater spot with a good third year named Christopher Wood, Sean Wood's younger brother. They played on the strategy that Elyse would try to find the snitch as fast as possible as Moira tried to keep the Quaffle on the other side of the field with the three boys on defense protected the hoops at all costs. They had lost the game against Ravenclaw by about sixty points and almost tied with Hufflepuff. Those two losses alone hypothetically disqualified them from the finals but James was determined to get back to the field.

He had been told that flying would agitate his injury and without the strength in his one leg, he wouldn't be able to fly a broom again. Pomfrey had even contemplated that if he did gain some of his strength back, he would never be able to fly straight or play Quidditch again. It would be too much of a risk. He refused to believe that though. He was born to fly. It wasn't something that anyone could take away from him.

When he finally got inside the pitch, he left the map under the cloak and walked onto the pitch. He just stood there a moment, using the broom as a crutch as he simply breathed in the pitch. It was so right to be back standing there. The grass, the hoops, the towers, the stands, the _air_; it was all a part of him.

Without a second thought, James mounted the broom. He took a deep breath and kicked off.

And after two weeks unconscious in a leg and three weeks of struggling through everything, James was finally free again.

* * *

Hello, everyone! I decided to put the author's note down here so you guys could get straight into the horribly overdue chapter. So not exactly a lot going on in this chapter but I felt that it was important to see what James was going through in his mind. Imagine a healthy, young, athletic, independent, and wild teenager suddenly unable to even walk on his own anymore. He's frustrated, he's angry, and he just done. I felt like this chapter was final chapter to the whole incident before we start moving forwards again. Don't worry, it gets much lighter and more Marauder-ish as we move onwards. And the next chapter will hopefully be done in a week or so because I am done with school in a few days so I will have more then enough time to actually work on this my writing.

Now for some comments on reviews:

Livestrong617 - While this chapter didn't have a lot of Sirius and Ben interaction, there was a bit of James and Ben reactions to each other. There will be more on this topic in the next few chapters so keep a look out.

MarauderonFire - In the case of Sirius liking Elyse and vice versa, there isn't anything really there anymore. There will be some interaction between Elyse and Pat in the next chapter or so and that will be a bit telling about their relationships. I know this chapter didn't have a vision but you'll have to wait and see what is in store for the next few. I don't want to spoil anything but they are going to be some of the most heart wrenching. You'll see what I mean in the next year or so for them. And don't worry, we are definitely going to be getting some classic marauder action up in action again.

Laveycee - Sadly, no. Ben's not a Time Lord. It's just an expression. But it is funny that you should mention Time Lords considering I've been debating writing a Doctor Who story and I've just started writing out the outline about a week ago. Seeing where it goes, there might be a time lord story sometime soon. As for Ben regaining Ursula's friendship and love, let's just say no one is going to make it easy for him.


	12. Career Advice

_I would like to start out by apologizing/explaining why this chapter took such a long time to post/write. I almost regret saying this, but I'm not really sorry. You see, a week after I posted the last chapter, that relative in the hospital I mentioned a few weeks ago was, for all intents and purposes, taken off life support. He was able to hold on for about a week after that and I spent a great deal of time with my family and him at the hospital and at home. When he passed away, it was an expected blow and even though I knew what was going to happen, it was very hard. Then to make matters more confusing and hard, it was the end of the school year so there were all sorts of award banquets and end of the year celebrations that were supposed to be happy events. On one day, I was at the funeral in the morning and later that night I was at one of said celebrations. You can probably guess how conflicting and confusing it was; going from burying a loved one to going to hang out with friends, trying to pretend nothing was wrong.  
_

_I didn't know what to write for this because I didn't feel like me for a while and in my mind, a story is a reflection of the author so I didn't want to write something that was completely wrong and I would hate later. Plus, I simply needed to be with family and sort through everything. _

_Finally, about four days ago, I checked reviews for the first time in three weeks and I just suddenly snapped back into my "writing place" and sat down to write this._

_So there you go. That's why this chapter has been missing for almost a month. I feel terrible that I sort of left everything hanging and no one knew what was going on, but as I hope you now understand, I just couldn't write. Now that I am done with school, I will have much more time and I hope to finish this story by the end of this month so I hope to post a new chapter at least once a week, if not twice if I can manage it._

_One last thing before I let you get to this chapter. The vision Elyse references later regarding Ben happened in Book Three Chapter 11 so if you just want to refresh your memory of it, this scene here sort of explains/clarifies what happened in a part of it. It really isn't a spoiler because it is sort of obvious and it doesn't really give much away._

_Without further delay, please enjoy the next chapter!_

* * *

A loud bang woke Ben abruptly from his sleep. He groaned into his pillows. He had never wanted to wake up from the dream he was having. He was no seer, but it was of a future that could never be; Annabelle was alive, her son was born, Ursula was married to him and they were expecting their own child, James and Sirius had forgiven him, Remus was miraculously cured of his lycanthropy, and the war was over and won. It was perfect.

Knowing that he would never be able to fall back asleep, Ben picked his head up from the warmth of his pillows and rolled out from underneath his blanket to sit on the edge of his bed. The room was completely black, which wasn't that odd. His roommates would often leave the curtains closed tight and with the sun rising later, it wasn't uncommon for them to wake and it still is completely dark out.

He stood up, knowing his way around the room and thinking that his eyes would adjust to the darkness in a few minutes. The second he took a step, he realized his mistake. His foot connected with something, causing him to stumble. Ben reached out to grab his bed post, only to catch air. He stumbled forward and crashed into something else and he tumbled to the floor.

As he laid there in pain, a snort from the other side of the room caught his attention.

"Padfoot," James scolded though it was obvious to hear he too was trying to hold back laughter.

"Sorry, Prongs, I couldn't do it anymore." Sirius said, laughing outright now.

Ben heard the familiar sound of the curtains being opened but Ben's vision remained black. Panic started to override the pain he felt and he frantically found his way to his feet. "What the hell is going on?" He demanded, fear seeping into his usually calm voice.

"What is it Benny Boy?" Sirius asked mockingly.

"Are you a bit _blindsided_ by our little prank?" James continued in the same manner.

Ben's jaw dropped in horror. "What have you done?"

"Well you see, ever since Ursula's vision was damaged, Paddy and I've been doing a lot of research to try to fix it. As it happens to work out, we came across a lot of information on not just how to heal blindness but also how to _cause_ it."

"It's quite simple really. To learn how to fix it you need to know how it was caused."

"Unfortunately, there is absolutely no permanent cure for blindness caused by Flammel Disease but we've figured out a couple good ways to someone blind."

"All in good fun, of course," Sirius finished. Although he couldn't see, Ben could practically hear the smirk undoubtedly on Sirius's face.

"Why?" That was the only question Ben could think of and wanted to know the answer to. He had known that with everything he had said in the past, not everyone would be immediately forgiving. A bit presumptuous, he assumed that Elyse would forgive him first (since she was a seer and she had to have seen what he was going to do) and the others would follow suit in time.

Sirius crackled, "Why? _Why_? You're honestly questioning that? I thought that you were just a prick, not an idiot." He sneered.

"Oddly enough," James said solemnly, "That was what Sissy questioned too."

With that, two pairs of footsteps exited the room and slammed the door quite loudly. Thus erupted a muffled argument from the stairwell as some of the males in Gryffindor didn't appreciate being woken up so abruptly.

Ben cautiously tried to take a step but he only knocked his shin into something else, causing him to hiss in pain.

"They emptied your trunk around the bed," Remus cautioned from the other side of the room. "Give me a moment." He requested. Remus thrust a vile of something into Ben's hand. Trustingly, he drank it without a second thought. It took about a minute but soon his vision was back. He groaned when he saw everything around his bed. Remus hadn't been lying when he said the other two emptied his trunk.

At this point, Peter had also woken up and was ready to leave. When he walked past Ben's bed, he purposely kicked a few books before he left the room without another word.

Sighing, Ben started to clean up the mess from around the bed. He was moderately surprised when Remus knelt down next to the bed and started pulling out some of the stuff that had been either kicked or thrown under there. With the two of them working together, the mess was quickly cleaned up. Ben was just stacking some books when he said, "Oh, Remus, keep my violin out would you? I think I'll play later."

"I don't have your violin." Remus said.

Ben quickly turned around, "That's not possible. I didn't put it away so you have to have it." He said panicked.

Remus shook his head sadly, "You don't remember do you?"

"Remember what?" Ben demanded,

"You had some sort of…fit…or something a little after Annabelle died. We walked in and found small bits of wood and some torn up strings. When we got up the next morning, it was all gone. The house elves probably thought it was garbage. I'm sorry. You can probably sneak out later tonight and get one at Hogsmeade from that music store you go to. I'll even try to get James to let you borrow the map."

Ben collapsed against his bed, his whole body seeming to deflate from the crushing emotions. "I can't." He admitted softly.

Remus looked concerned as Ben looked like he was near tears. "What do you mean? You can always get another violin."

"That wasn't just any violin, Moony," Ben paused as he tried to compose himself. "It was a gift from Annabelle."

Remus realized the situation and swore. He sat down next to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Ben. Maybe the house elves kept it?" He tried to suggest optimistically.

Ben snorted disbelievingly, "They've kept scraps of wood from how many months ago?"

The duo sat silently on the edge of Ben's bed, one of them thinking of the loss of a precious instrument and the other trying to figure out what to say. Remus eventually found his words and said, "I don't think it matters. The violin, that is."

Ben's head snapped so quickly, Remus thought for sure he was going to get whiplash. But before Ben could say anything, Remus continued, "What Annabelle said is that she wanted you to keep playing, correct? I think that is a better way to honor her memory than never playing again because you don't have the one she gave you."

"I just…" Ben tried to find the words he wanted. He gave up and simply shook his head. "I would do anything to get that back."

Remus put his hand comfortingly on his shoulder before standing up. "Come on mate. Let's go get some breakfast."

The owls must have already come because Ursula was reading the Prophet and James had a letter from his parents. Out of the corner of his eye, Ben noticed Ursula tense when he sat next to her.

"Good morning," he greeted as pleasantly as he could.

Ursula mumbled a response back before going back to reading the paper. Ben's heart sunk but he didn't do or say anything else. Determined not the mention anything about this morning, he turned towards Elyse.

"Did you see the announcement board this morning?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I saw it. Woot're yeh thinkin aboot fer 'at?"

Ben instantly responded, "I'm going to be an auror."

Sirius and James both failed to hold back a snort of amusement.

"Seriously?" Sirius asked incredulously. "I thought aurors were supposed to be brave and honorable; not a wanker and a prat."

"And trustworthy. Don't forget trustworthy," James added.

Ben sighed and decided not to argue with them, knowing that no matter what he said, they would just refute it. Elyse however had something to say about their words towards her friend which then resulted in an argument between the three. Remus and Ben both tried to stop the quickly escalating argument (it didn't help when Peter jumped in on James and Sirius's side) before someone said something they regretted.

Softly, yet loud enough for all of them to hear, Ursula said, "I think he'll make a good Auror."

"What!" the two raven haired boys exclaimed. Ben simply stared at Ursula in awe, his heart swelling with happiness that she not only believed that he would follow his dream but that she was defending his character after everything that had happened.

Ursula folded up the paper and leaned forward, "Sirius, am I dead?"

Sirius looked at her, startled by the horrible question and confused as to why she asked it. "No."

"Then how could you possibly understand what it was like for him to find out about Annabelle? His sister _died_. How would you react if after this Christmas break when I spend the last week at Elyse's McGonagall and Dumbledore walk up to you and tell you that I was murdered? Do you think you would be thinking rationally at all? Hell no so grow the hell up and start acting like a decent human being. Same goes for you James. Don't judge Ben by what he did and said when he was devastated, you judgmental prats." She stood up and threw the newspaper at the pair.

"You should read that. Eight more families were just slaughtered this past week. Think about the remaining families and if they are thinking all of their actions through rationally right now. Are you going to judge them as well?" With that, she grabbed one more piece of toast and walked out of the Great Hall.

Seeing Sirius's and James's glare at him, Ben quickly ran out of the Hall after Ursula. He found her walking up to the stairs back to the tower.

"Ursula!" He shouted a few flights down to get her attention. She stopped and waited for him to catch up.

"What do need?" She asked as she continued up the stairs.

Ben kept up with her as they continued back into the tower, "I just wanted to thank you for what you said. Out of everyone there, you have the most right to hate me right now but you still defended me."

Ursula was silent a moment as she looked down at the ground. She stopped at the landing of the girls' staircase, "I don't think I ever hated you." She admitted.

"Same." He said. "No matter what I said, I could never, ever hate you." Taking a humongous, gigantic risk, Ben quickly asked, "Do you want to go on a walk around the Black Lake?"

He spoke so quickly that his words seemed to blur together. Ursula seemed to understand him none the less and after a moment's thought nodded and said, "Let me go grab a coat."

With a quick smile, Ursula disappeared up the stairwell. Ben waited until he was sure she wouldn't see him before he smiled like a man who had just been given the gift of a lifetime. Realizing that he was in a simple shirt and knowing that it was cold outside, he quickly ran to his own room to grab his jumper. He nearly fell down the stairs as he threw the jumper over his head as he quickly descended down the stairs.

"Ready to go?" Ursula asked from the bottom of the adjacent stairs.

Ben nodded and the pair walked out the common room side by side. They didn't speak, simply adjusting to being back in each other's company. It had been nearly a year since the two had amicably been alone together. Mentally, Ben was kicking himself for thinking of anything to say. He knew he was the one who had to step back and allow Ursula to move at her own pace in their relationship.

They just made it to the Black Lake when Ursula suddenly asked, "Why do you want to be an Auror?"

"That's all I ever wanted to be. As a kid, I would wait up for my dad to come home from work and tell Anna and me these wonderful stories about all the people he saved. We thought he was a hero. Then Anna joined the department and I idolized her. I wanted to be just like her. I told her I was going to be an Auror back in first year and she looked so proud that I was following in her footsteps. Now that she's gone, I don't want her memory to die away." For Ben, that was the most he had spoken about his sister to anyone, besides his parents, since her death.

Ursula nodded and was silent throughout his entire explanation. Looking ahead, she said, "I want to be an Auror to prove everyone wrong."

Ben actually stopped walking and stared at her in shock, "You want to be an Auror?!"

She nodded but didn't elaborate any more. Ben decided to risk it and pushed for more questions. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone expects Blacks to join the Death Eaters and I'm sure there are some people out there that still think that of Sirius and me. I know that there is no way to not get dragged into this war so I've chosen to enter with my head held high and on my own terms so I'm becoming an Auror."

"Are you going to join the Order?" Ben asked softly, mindful of a small group of passing students.

"Sirius, James, and I are planning on joining right after graduation." She admitted. "What about you?"

Ben shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know. Everyone expects that I will join but…I don't know."

"Is it about Annabelle?"

"There is a part of me," Ben confessed, "that blames the Order for what happened to my sister. She was targeted partially because of her affiliation to the Order and they should have known she would be a prime target in the first days of the war. Does that make sense?"

Ursula nodded and reached out to squeeze his hand comfortingly just for a moment. "It makes all the sense in the world." She let go of his hand and continued walking forwards, Ben just a step behind her, a brilliant and pleased smile on his face.

The rest of the week progressed slowly. The holidays were only weeks away so that made the boring classes even worse to sit through. The only things that happened that were remotely interesting were the career meetings with McGonagall. Sirius was first, followed by the rest of the Gryffindors in alphabetical order. It was Wednesday when it was finally Elyse turn. She had to wait through the first two classes, the first being Transfiguration and the next being Defense. McGonagall's class wasn't that bad but in Defense Pod started to talk about 'active defense', a rant he had given three times in the past two weeks and Elyse felt her eyes start to flutter close after about five minutes. Figuring she wouldn't miss anything, she lowered her head to her desk and closed her eyes, letting sleep take her. Only, it wasn't sleep that took her. It was a vision.

_A baby's joyous squeal mixed with a lower male laugh filled the air in the room. A fully grown James Potter held a young child that bore striking resemblance to him in the air, occasionally tossing the baby up gently and immediately catching him only to blow raspberry's on his son's stomach. The baby just laughed louder, causing James to laugh louder._

_Lily appeared in the doorway. She leaned against it with a loving smile on her face as she watched her husband and son laugh. "James," She spoke up after about ten minutes. "Harry's bed time was fifteen minutes ago."_

_James pulled Harry to his chest and Harry instantly nuzzled into his father's warm, soft jumper. He started speaking baby gibberish and would occasionally hit his little fist against James's chest to accentuate the point he was trying to make._

"_Aww, come'on Lily-flower, he can stay up a little longer. He and daddy are bonding." Subconsciously, his smile grew wider when he said the word daddy. _

_Lily shook her head and walked over and gently took Harry into her own arms, "I'm sorry but Mommy wants to get some sleep tonight. Besides, everyone is coming over tomorrow. I don't want him to be cranky." _

"_Sorry Bud," James said as he ruffled his son's hair. "Mummy has spoken. Let's get you to bed." He wrapped his arms around Lily's waist as she carried Harry up the stairs to his nursery. Lily rocked Harry back and forth while humming a soft lullaby while James wrapped his arms around both of them. _

_The room was a mixture of muggle and wizard styles. The crib was intricately crafted with the name Harry James etched into the side. The mobile, made of snitches and Quaffles, spun in a circle all on its own. On a nearby bookshelf there were multiple books showing James's and Lily's mixed heritages, two such books being the Grimm Brother's Fairy Tales and the Tales of Beetle and Bard. Propped up in the corner was a miniature broom next to a rocking chair with a homemade red and gold afghan._

_Once Harry was settled down, Lily placed him in his crib. Both James and Lily leaned over the edge and just watched Harry squirm around in his bed to get comfortable. He reached to the snitch every time is passed over him, causing James to laugh and smile proudly._

"_That's my little seeker," James said proudly. He leaned over the railing and kissed Harry's head. Harry squealed happily at the touch of his father and latched his little fists onto this father's messy hair._

_Laughing, Lily gently pulled Harry's hands away. "No, no, Harry. You need to go to sleep," She whispered in the quiet night, trying to sooth her rambunctious son. She gently kissed his little fists before tucking him in._

"_You can dream of catching your snitch," James suggested, knowing full well that Harry didn't truly understand. "One day you'll play from Gryffindor and Mummy and I will go with the rest of your aunts and uncles and we'll all watch you win for our old house. You know what; I'll make you a deal." James reached into his pocket and pulled out a snitch. He looked at it sadly, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the still closed wings. Lily reached out and covered his hand with hers. She smiled comforting though there was a familiar pain in her eyes. James was jolted out of his thoughts and smiled tightly at Lily before looking back at Harry._

"_One day, Harry, you will know the story behind this snitch and be able to understand what it means. It is my most prized possession. So here's the deal; you make the team, I'll give this to you. You'd like that, wouldn't you Harry?"_

_Harry gurgled and nodded his head. He then yawned and his eyes started drooping. Lily laughed gently and smiled, "Goodnight Harry. Momma loves you."_

"_Daddy loves you too." James added._

"_We love you so, so very much." Lily said as she gently stroked Harry's soft cheek. "Sweet dreams, love."_

_Harry's eyes drifted close and soon soft snores were the only sound in the room. The parents stood and watched their son for a moment while wrapped in an intimate embrace, James's head resting on Lily's shoulder while her hands fiddled with his wedding band. Lily grabbed his hand and gently pulled him forward but James shook his head._

"_Just give me a minute; I'll be there in a moment."_

_Lily gave him an odd look but nodded. After a quick kiss on the lips, she turned and left the room. James stood over Harry's bed, just watching his son._

"_You know," he began suddenly, "I may be the most brilliant wizard who specializes in odd and surprising but I'll admit that this is a bit much for me." He was perfectly still before suddenly turning to look exactly where Elyse would have been standing if she had been visible to him as she watched the vision. "Hello," She yelped and felt her heart start to beat faster which was wrong because she wasn't visible yet he somehow knew where she 'was' in the room._

_James snorted as if something amused him. "The way you explained the details of the room, that is the only spot you could be. How could I know that? You told me. Yup, Lucky," James's breath caught in his throat for a moment, "I know that you saw this happen when we were still in Hogwarts together. We're in Defense right now, correct? Good old Pod. I remember that bloke quite well. He was certifiably insane but brilliant, almost as brilliant as me." He said arrogantly. Then he seemed to deflate. "Pity what happened."_

_He was silent a moment as he remembered whatever happened to their current (past?) professor. He then shook his head, "Anyway, you'll find out soon enough. According to you, I had this amazingly wicked speech I prepared but I forget it and you're right. I can't think of a damn thing I was going to tell you. _

"_If I remember correctly, right now for you I'm at the epitome of what Lily loving calls my 'toe-rag prick phase'. I was just talking to King about that yesterday. Damnit, I shouldn't have said that. Eh, it should be fine. You told me that I accidentally tell you about someone. You can't tell me about this now. You'll know when you need to tell me about this and I'll get the message. I know you're dying to know about all the specific things you haven't seen about all of us. I would love to tell you, I honestly would, but I don't think you could bear it; knowing that is. I will tell you something though."_

_He took a step forward and went to reach his hand out as if to put it on her shoulder. He pulled his hand back at the last moment and instead looked down right into her eyes (if she technically had them) and said, "We're all happy and safe, some of us are just safer than others because they…well, they left. Don't worry."_

_The visions started to fade and Elyse could vaguely start to hear Pod's voice again. However, James's voice brought her back to the vision for just a second. _

"_Elyse? Thank you for being the best friend a bloke could ask for. And I'm sorry." There were tears in his eyes and for a second, just barely a second, Elyse saw how vulnerable and sad he looked. Before she could hear him say anything else, it was all over._

Elyse sat up with a gasp. She instantly sought out James who was currently enchanting little paper planes with Sirius to throw at the back of Ben's head. Sirius and James had ignored Ursula and continued to torment Ben just in more subtle ways so Ursula didn't notice.

Pod was still ranting and taking active defense so Elyse figured she hadn't missed much. Sure, knowing how to defend yourself was vitally important. With her knowledge of the future, Elyse knew that better than anyone. Yet, her most recent vision plagued her thoughts for the rest of the day. It distracted her to such a degree that she almost missed her career meeting with Professor McGonagall. It wasn't until Ursula mentioned to her in the passing period did she remember.

Running to McGonagall's office, she made it with barely a minute to spare. She took a few deep breaths before knocking on the door.

"Enter." The professor called from inside her office.

Elyse walked in and looked around the room. It was odd being in there and not being in trouble for something. McGonagall looked up from the papers on her desk and gestured towards the empty seat opposite of her.

"Good afternoon, O'Brian. As you are aware, this meeting is to advise you on any future career paths you are considering and to see what OWLs you need to learn to take the appropriate classes in the next two years. Do you have any ideas as of now?" McGonagall said briskly.

Elyse shrugged nervously, "I 'aven't really though o' anythin. I figure I'll 'know' sooner o' later."

McGonagall shook her head and started rummaging through the papers on her desk. "Your Transfiguration grades with undoubtedly earn you at least an Exceeds Expectations while your History of Magic grade could use some work. Professor Flitwick thinks you are a wonderful student who is certainly above average in Charms theory but not as strong in actual use. Potions, Herbology, Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures are right in range for your level of intelligence. However," McGonagall looked up from the paper and sternly looked at Elyse over her spectacles, "the one grade I simply cannot understand is how you are failing divination."

Elyse snorted, "It's a joke! 'E got no idea woot he's talkin aboot. I know teh future. I know woot's going ter 'appen."

"O'Brian, you know how I traditionally feel about divination. You're truly an anomaly. The gift you possess is unparalleled and even I cannot doubt it. Still, I want to caution you to not be so brash and reliant upon your ability."

"Woot do yeh mean?"

"What I am saying is that relying on the future to tell you what will happen is not advisable. You have to make your own decisions and deal with the consequences or rewards without cheating and finding out how it ends."

"But I kin see everythin. Woot does it matter if I kin know woot 'appens if it always will happen?"

McGonagall shook her head, "Tell me O'Brian, do you know the profession of any of your friends?" When Elyse nodded, McGonagall continued, "Do you think it would be wise for them to know what you have seen?"

Elyse thought about that. To her, the future was always certain, one hundred percent fact. She remembered all the visions of her future and felt…trapped almost. Like no matter what, she had to do that, like she had no free will. What if she told Ben the vision where he had achieved his dream of being an auror only to be forced to resign for some unnamed reason? Would he even want to become an auror if he knew?

"Perhaps the reason you have not seen your own choice is because you still have to make it."

For the first time in her entire life, after hearing that, Elyse began to question her gift.

The next day, McGonagall was walking back from teaching her first year Hufflepuff and Slytherin class. She knew that her next fifth year she had to see would undoubtedly find some way to surprise her. Expecting him to be late, she took her time and stopped to speak to Professor Flitwick in the hall.

When she got to her office door, she was surprised to see it partially open. She opened the door the rest of the way and sighed and tried to hide her amused smile. James Potter was lounging in her chair, his feet propped up on her desk, munching on a cookie from the tin she kept on the corner of her desk.

"Minnie! Just the woman I wanted to see!" He exclaimed happily with his trademark crooked smile. "I must say, these cookies are phenomenal!" He took his feet off his desk (she noticed his slight wince as he did so) and leaned forward on the desk, his arms crossed, and with a serious look on his face. "Are you my mother? Only my mum can make food as good as this."

McGonagall shook her head and moved out of the doorway to place her papers on a table in the back of the room. "So she did. She was the one to give me those."

James feigned outrage, "She makes you cookies but not her only son!?"

"I believe it was a thank you for keeping her only son alive," she countered pointedly. "Now, if you would please remove yourself from my chair so we can begin."

He sighed and made a dramatic show of getting up, using the desk for support, before hobbling over to the opposite side of the desk. McGonagall sat down and reached into a drawer to pull out his reports and some pamphlets about different careers.

"Potter, you obviously know what this meeting is about. Do you have any ideas with career path you wish to pursue once you graduate?"

James shook his head, "Aww, Minnie, you think that I actually want to follow a career?"

She looked at him sternly. She put the papers back down on her desk and said, "Pray tell, how do you plan to support yourself."

"Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"

McGonagall raised her eyebrows but nodded none the less, "Granted."

"I'm set to inherit one hell of a fortune. I could never work a day in my life and live a lavish life and barely make a dent it in. I've figured that I could support all of Gryffindor Tower and all of their children for the next thirty years and still have some left over. But my brilliant mind would go to waste if I didn't do something but you know me; do you honestly think I could work a simple nine to five job or have to report to someone? As you've figured out, I don't exactly do well with authority." His entire being seemed to ooze cockiness and arrogance.

"Potter, trust me when I say this; we all know." McGonagall said dryly.

"But there are some people in this school I respect greatly," James said, his eyes softening slightly. "People who have _inspired_ me, you could say. So I've decided to take a different path, perhaps one that is a bit unorthodox, but I feel that it is the best choice for me. It will keep me occupied and utilize the skills and abilities I have. It might even bring a little bit of, oh, maybe some _order_ to my life."

James's devilish grin gave away the meanings behind his words. McGonagall simply stared at him, a feeling of pride and admiration budding in her chest. She remembered having a slightly similar conversation with the Black twins earlier in the week and there was no doubt that the three of them had spoken a great deal about this before. There was a small bit of fear in the back of her mind, knowing that joining the Order of the Phoenix carried the possibility of death. But she also knew the skills and talents they all possessed and she thought, she hoped, that that was enough to keep them alive.

"In that case, I would suggest continuing with Transfiguration. The art of deception and being able to disguise yourself is vital. The more complete and convincing the guise the better. Charms and Potions are vital for knowledge of healing; often on the fly and quickly. Defense Against the Dark Arts is self-explanatory, I believe. A knowledge and familiarity with herbs is also suggested for the same reasons as Charms and Potions. You don't know where you will be or for how long so it would be advisable to know what you have at your disposal in any given environment."

James nodded, mentally taking note of what she said. "Anything else?"

She nodded, "Work with the Black twins. We are strong as individuals but stronger still as a group. We like partners, small groups of individuals who work seamlessly together."

"Thanks for the advise Professor," James said as he struggled slightly to stand up. "If you would excuse me, I'm going to go run Quidditch practice." He was allowed to fly a limited amount of time (he took the time limit as a suggestion) so he had to settle at times simply watch from the ground. He was thankful that he wasn't Ursula, who wasn't allowed to play at all until further notice. According to Madame Pomfrey, another hit to the head and severe permanent damage was highly likely.

"One last thing, Potter. Know that under no circumstances are you to join before you graduate. Is that understood?"

James jokingly rolled his eyes but nodded none the less, "Yes Minnie," he said before he continued out of the office.

Much later that night, Ben was strolling through the halls. Peter's meeting with McGonagall had gone late so his meeting time got pushed back. A pair of footsteps caught Ben's attention and he looked over his shoulder to see Remus and Lily, doing their prefect rounds.

"Hello Ben," Lily greeted with a kind smile, "What're you doing out past curfew?"

"I've got my meeting with McGonagall. Pete's ran late."

Lily nodded, "Do you have any idea what are you are planning for your future?" She asked amicably as the pair of prefects joined Ben and walked together.

"The Auror department at the Ministry. And you?"

"I've been speak to Professor Slughorn about possibly doing an apprenticeship with him after I graduate. I would like to become a potions mistress and possibly teach one day. What about you, Remus? You've never said."

Remus shrugged, self-loathing and submissiveness presenting themselves in his eyes. "No one would ever hire someone with my…condition. I'll have to find work in the muggle world, if I could even do that. I'm going to be shunned from this world, rightfully so."

"That's rubbish and you know it Remus Lupin!" Lily scolded, her green eyes glinting with anger that he thought so lowly of himself. "You don't deserve that at all!"

"Tell that to James and Ursula," Remus muttered under his breath.

At that, Lily actually reached out and slapped Remus quite viciously on his arm, "Don't you dare for a second think those two blame you for what happened to them! They love you and would never think less of you."

Remus decided it was best not to argue with Lily. Ben cleared his throat nervously before asking, "So what _would_ you do Remus?"

He was silent a moment as he thought about it. He eventually said, "If I could, I would want to be a professor. I have to teach Peter enough that I think I can handle any student."

Ben and Remus shared a joking smile as they remembered their combined efforts to try to explain many simple concepts to their mutual friend.

Lily beamed at Remus, "I think you would make a marvelous Professor. What subject would you teach?"

"Seeing as potions is out of the question," he quipped, nudging Lily with his shoulder slightly, "I would like the maybe teach DADA or maybe Charms."

"Any Order?" Ben questioned, the infliction of his words went unnoticed by Lily but Remus caught it. His brows furrowed as he considered the question. Finally, he nodded slowly, "I think so."

Lily looked between the two of them confused. "What are you two talking about?"

"Just some Marauder business," Remus effortlessly distracted her.

It seemed to work when she groaned and rolled her eyes, "Don't tell me you've _named_ yourselves!"

Ben smirked, "A Marauder will never tell."

"Ugh, you are all impossible." She jokingly complained.

"Well," Ben said as he stopped in front of McGonagall's office, "where's the fun in being possible?" With that, he knocked on the door before opening it. He stepped into the office.

McGonagall was sitting behind her desk, looking just as intimidating as she did in class. "White, sit down." She directed him.

Ben did what she asked and moved to sit down in the chair across from her.

"I am guessing that you have some sort of idea about your future career?" She asked briskly.

Ben nodded, "I want to become an Auror."

She nodded as if that idea didn't surprise her in the least. "I'm assuming also that you know about all the requirements and the OWLs you need to even be considered for acceptance into the program?" When Ben nodded, she continued. "I'm not surprised. Considering your family, you know the requirements better than most."

Awkwardly, Ben nodded as McGonagall continued to stare at him. "Can I go then?" He asked hesitantly.

She shook her head, "I have another matter I wish to speak to you about. For this meeting, all of your professors write a small report to assess your skills in their area o expertise and sometime make suggestions for the student. This is what I received for you." She handed him over a single sheet of parchment. Ben looked down and read it.

_Professor Prongs feels Mr. White is a traitorous, hot headed wanker and therefore suggests he look into pursuing a career as a chew toy for the Giant Squid._

_Professor Padfoot agrees with Professor Prongs assessment and would like to add Mr. White is a pretentious twit who should look into becoming Filch's cat keeper._

_Professor Wormtail thinks Mr. White is an undeserving, stupid, mean jerk who threw away the best thing that will ever happen to him. I recommend he become nothing because that is all he can hope to be._

_Professor Moony knows that everyone's emotions have been high for the last year or so and in some part of his brain, he understands (but does not condone) what Mr. W—_

_Professor Prongs and Professor Padfoot think that Professor Moony doesn't understand the current situation. They also regret to say that fellow Professors Lucky and Muse were unavailable for comment._

He took a deep breath, knowing that James and Sirius (and Peter as well) would not simply give up on his choice of profession. He just never thought they would go and do something like this. He sighed and looked back at McGonagall.

She cleared her throat before saying, "I was aware there was some conflict between you and them but I find this unacceptable. If you would like, I will speak to these gentleman and get to the bottom of this."

"Professor, in all honesty, I would prefer if you didn't say anything." Ben said. "I have to deal with them on my own and if you get involved, it won't help my case."

McGonagall nodded. "Very well. Just know that if I catch them doing anything further, there will be no second chances and they will be punished."

"Understood." Ben affirmed, knowing that they wouldn't simply stop at threat of detention. He could only hope.


	13. Christmas

_Sorry for the wait but I think this is going to be worth it. It starts out a bit slow, but it definitely picks up. I want to keep this short so you can get to reading but I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all the people who offered their condolences. While I may not know any of you on a personal level, it is still greatly appreciated. Also, a quick thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, or alerted this story. You are all wonderful! Now please enjoy the next chapter of ABAWS: B4._

* * *

"Elyse!" The moment Elyse had walked in the front door of her home she was instantly swept into an embrace. Pat tightened his grip and spun her around a few times before setting her back on her feet and quickly giving her a kiss. "Yeh've no idea 'ow much I've missed yeh."

Elyse laughed and simply leaned into his embrace, "I've a pretty good idea."

Pat gently cupped her face and looked at her as if he was trying to memorize every single one of her features. "I kept on thinkin' aboot yeh these last few weeks 'n 'ow I'm gonna be meetin' yer friends. Ask me mam, I was in a panic. I was freakin' oot. But fer teh life o' me, I couldn't figure oot _why_ I was so nervous. They're just me girlfriend's friends I've never properly met. Then I realized somethin." Pat moved his arms to wrap around her waist, pulling her to him.

"I realized I was so nervous because they're a huge part o' yeh life. If they don't like me, I'm not in a major part o' yer life. Yer life's me life, 'n I just needed ter tell yeh this."

She giggled and kissed him. "Kin I at least put me stuff away?" She motioned to her trunk right behind her.

He immediately released her, his face flushing red in embarrassment. "Let me get it." He said. Pat quickly moved and picked up the trunk. "Jeez, woot teh heck do yeh have in here? Bodies?"

"Not full ones, just teh limbs."

"Ah, makes sense. Feet?"

"Arms 'n legs mostly."

"And teh heads?"

"Wit Ursula in 'er magic bag."

"How magic?"

"It's like Mary Poppins's'."

"Woot aboot teh torsos?"

"Gave 'em ter me werewolf friend ter snack on during teh last full moon."

Pat nodded appreciatively. "Nice. Just wonderin', how many?"

"At Pete's last count, seven boot wit 'is countin' skills, we might be lookin at more."

"You've been busy then."

"It's a bit o' a stress reliever during exams."

"I kin imagine."

The two of them simply looked at each other with semi-serious, semi-amused faces before they burst out laughing. While she knew that Pat thought she was just messing around, a small part of her wished that Pat would somehow be able to see it, somehow be able to know.

Once Pat stopped laughing, he asked, "Where does this go?"

"_Where does this go?" A much older Pat shouted back over his shoulder. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, based on the lines on his face and the grey just starting to mix in with his natural sandy blonde hair._

"_Just put it in the living room!" A voice from a back room responded._

_Pat set down the trunk near the front door. He traced the name 'Seamus' written on the cover slowly, looking at the trunk but not seeing it. "Just up teh stairs, second door on teh right." He muttered to himself, not seeming to be aware of where he was._

"_What was that Dad?" A young boy asked as leaned over the railing of the stairs._

_Pat jumped and spun around. He smiled happily when he saw his son, "Seamus! _

"Elyse?" Pat was waving his hand in front of her face. "Where should I put this?"

She jumped, startled out of her vision, and shook her head, trying to regain her bearings, before muttering, "Just up teh stairs, second door on teh right."

"Got it," Pat said as he carried her trunk up the stairs to her room. Before she could ponder anymore about the odd and completely unexpected vision, two sets of feet pounded on the upstairs floor and the stormed down the stairs. Elyse smiled widely when her two little brothers practically threw themselves at her. It had been far too long since she had last seen them.

"Lysie!" Sean shouted joyously. At the age of five, he had just started muggle school and often wrote to her about it. He particularly loved to tell the story when he was playing hide and seek and somehow managed to change places when he was about to be found.

"Where's everybody else?" Jack questioned, eager to see his older sister's cool friends. He had met them a few Christmases ago and had become completely enamored by all of them.

"Mam made us clean up teh house fer 'em." Sean told her glumly, frowning as he thought of all the cleaning he had been forced to do.

Elyse smiled at her younger brothers' enthusiasm. "They had ter go ter their homes first."

"But I want 'em here _now_," Sean whinned.

"They'll be here soon enough," Elyse chastised gently, "Until then, yeh's just got ter wait."

"Do yeh think 'ey'll teach me magic?" He asked eagerly, his wide baby blues shining up at her.

"There's no such thing as magic, Sean," Pat said when he got to the landing of the stairs, "It's just a bunch o' smoke 'n mirrors."

Sean crossed his arms and glared comically at the older boy, "No, Lysie 'n her friends're magic 'n so am I!"

Panic started to set in Elyse's chest. Pat couldn't find out; he was just a muggle. Thinking quick on her feet, Elyse came up with a lie that one could only think of after spending years with James and Sirius, "Me friends showed 'im some magic tricks 'n now he thinks they're wizards. Just go wit it." Elyse muttered to last part under her breath as she gave Pat a glare.

Pat nodded in a placated manner, "Got it," he murmured back in agreement. "Sean, do yeh know when yer magic friends're comin'?"

Sean nodded begrudgingly, still not liking Pat because he said that magic wasn't real. Jack was the one who answered the question, "They's comin' teh after Christmas."

Pat smiled brightly, "Can't wait." And he really couldn't.

The first impression Ursula and Sirius had of Kiltimagh was that it was quiet. They traveled the muggle way with the Potters so they had to walk from the train station to the village. Because of it being completely muggle, the Potters thought it would be best to not magically appear out of thin air. Considering there were only two adults and three children, apparation was a slight challenge. Besides, the scenic views of the Irish countryside were too beautiful to miss.

"Ursula! Sirius!" Elyse shouted happily when she saw them walking down the street with James. She took a running start and tackled Ursula into a nearby snow bank. "Woot do yeh think o' me home?" Elyse asked excidedly.

"I would answer but I can't really see it," Ursula wheezed from under her friend.

Elyse simply laughed and got off Ursula. Ursula wanted to be annoyed at being tackled into the snow, but seeing Elyse's genuinely excited and anxious face chased all the annoyance away.

"Sirius," Elyse moved on to the other twin. "Have yeh grown?" She questioned when she pulled away from the hug. She could have sworn she didn't need to look that high to see his face.

He chuckled, "Nah, you've just shrunk."

Elyse shoved him half heartedly and rolled her eyes, "Haha, very funny."

"Oi, what about me?" James asked from behind the twins. "Care to give your favorite Marauder a little bit of love?" He opened his arms wide and with that infectious, cocky smirk on his face, Elyse laughed and threw herself into his hug. He tightened his grip on her and spun her around in circles before placing her back on the ground.

"So has the rest of our motley crew shown up yet?"

"Remus's back at teh house talkin ter Pat 'n Peter should be 'ere any minute."

"What about Ben?" Ursula asked.

Elyse hesitated when she saw James and Sirius's reaction at the mention of the boy they still greatly disliked. Ursula saw their faces and rolled her eyes, "oh, get over yourselves."

"Can't help that we hate the bloke." Sirius defended his and James's reaction.

"Don't say hate; it's a strong word," Mrs. Potter chided her sons.

"Just say 'prefer if they fell into a pit full of Blasted-End Skrewts' or 'sacrificed to a horde of bitter centaurs' or Alphard's personal favorite 'drink polyjuice potion with Walburga's toenails in it'."

"Harold!" Mrs. Potter gently slapped her husband's shoulder in shock. "That's a horrible thing to say!"

The four teens on the other hand were snickering. It was only when Mrs. Potter turned her 'look' at them they stopped laughing. She huffed before saying, "I trust you'll get back to the house as soon as possible?" When they nodded, Mrs. Potter grabbed onto the arm of her husband and after a quick goodbye, turned down a nearby alley. The crack of them apparating was the only thing that signaled that they had left.

"Any idea what is up with her?" Sirius muttered to James.

"I've never seen her jump to the defense of your mother before," James replied just as quietly. "I have no idea."

Ursula simply shrugged when the two boys looked to her for an answer. "I'm just as confused as you are."

"Well, we'll figure it oot later," Elyse said as she too started walking back towards her house, "teh rest o' 'em're waiting back at teh house."

"Is Pat there?" Ursula questioned, wanting to finally meet the person her best friend had been dating for the last three years.

"Yeah, is Patty there?" James asked with a devilish smirk.

Elyse groaned, "Oh me God, woot teh hell are yeh gonna do ter him?"

"Nothing," Sirius answered, not convincingly at all. He threw his arm around Elyse's shoulders and hunched down so he was level with her. "We just want to make sure this bloke is up to our requirements. We can't have our Lucky dating a complete wanker, can we?"

"I'm friends wit yeh 'n Potter so me wanker quota is filled."

"Aw, you're just saying that."

Elyse laughed and shrugged Sirius's arm off her shoulder. She turned and grabbed Ursula's hand and started dragging her up the hill towards her house.

Back up at the house, Ben was standing in the kitchen getting a drink of butterbeer. Elyse had smuggled some home and told them to tell anyone who was muggle that it was a school drink that one of their professors sold. It wasn't exactly in the line of the law but Ben didn't particularly care. Footsteps joined him a few minutes later and he turned to see Pat walk in.

Ben had to admit that he genuinely liked Pat. He was a nice enough bloke and from the brief conversation he had with him when they met, he care a great deal about Elyse and, by extension, getting in the good graces of her friends.

"Oi, mate, woot's that?" Pat asked pointing to the bottle of butterbeer.

"Butterbeer. It's a drink they sell at our school."

Pat nodded appreciatively, "Some fancy boardin' school drink then?" He picked the bottle up and looked at the bubbling amber liquid.

Ben shook his head, "It's a common drink where we go to school. Want to try some?" Out of curiosity, he wondered if a muggle would have the same reaction to butterbeer. It was obviously made by wizards, for wizards, so he had to entertain the possibility of the drink tasting different to someone of nonmagical blood.

"Sure. Woot teh hell."

Ben poured him a glass and watched as Pat swirled it in his glass. He took a gulp of it and spit it out almost immediately, gagging. He tried to catch his breath, "Dear God, that's disgustin'!"

Ben merely took another sip of his drink, "Eh, to each his own."

Pat shuddered when he saw Ben willingly swallow the vile liquid. "Do yer teachers hate yeh o' something? Woot's in that?"

"I don't really know. And while our teachers may not always be our greatest fans, I doubt they hate us. At least, I hope they don't hate us." He swallowed hard, thinking of all the times teachers had lost their cool with the seven of them.

"Isn't yer Pop teh governor or something like that at teh school?" Pat asked as they walked back into the living room to wait for the Blacks and Potters to show up.

"Something like that," Ben agreed, not knowing the exact story Elyse had to used to explain Hogwarts and the magical world right underneath Pat's (and all muggle's) nose.

They fell into a comfortable silence while Remus and Peter were off showing card tricks and other 'magic' tricks to Elyse's brothers. Remus had just pulled a coin out from behind Sean's ear, causing both boys to burst into laughter.

"Yeh know Sean tried ter tell me yeh were all wizards. He thinks yer magic."

Ben laughed but internally was panicking. This was an extremely fine and blurred line Elyse was dealing with and if Pat found out about wizards and magic and Hogwarts…he would be oblivated of all memories involving that, possibly including his memories of Elyse.

"Boot I've got ter say, Remus 'n Peter are good wit it; fakin' magic I mean."

"Yeah, they are. You should see James and Sirius go at it though. You wouldn't think it but those two are incredible."

Pat suddenly got a nervous look about him when Ben mentioned the two missing males. "Woot're they like?" Pat asked apprehensively.

"Sirius and James?"

""N Ursula. Yeh all mean a lot ter Elyse, don't git me wrong, boot Ursula's teh closest one ter 'er. She's teh most important. I need ter make sure they don't hate me o' somethin."

Ben nodded, understanding Pat rational. "With James and Sirius you can't back down. Match them shot for shot and don't get annoyed at their horsing around. They're…special…you know? Thicker then thieves and closer than brothers. If one likes you, the other does. If one doesn't, the same goes. Show no fear and roll with their punches and show them how much you care for Elyse. They may seem like heartless bastards sometimes but they love the girls so much. They only want _the_ best for them, savy?"

Pat gulped, more nervous than ever to meet the pair. "Woot aboot Ursula?"

"Ursula," Ben said slowly with a fond and regretful smile on his face. "Ursula is one of a kind. She's passionate, loyal, intelligent, brave, proud, and the absolute best person you will ever have the pleasure of meeting in your entire life. If you let her, she'll change your entire world. She has possibly the most compassionate person I've met and she loves her friends, especially Elyse. Elyse is the sister she's never had. If you let her know how much you like Elyse, Ursula will undoubtedly accept you. Her heart has an endless capacity to love and forgive. She'll never give up on you even when you've given up on yourself. She's like this light that guides you back home through all the darkness."

Pat simply stared at the other boy who was staring out the window with unfocused eyes as he obviously got lost in his thought. Pat chuckled, shaking his head. The noise brought Ben back to the present and he turned a bright red.

"Geez, yer really far gone, aren't yeh?"

"I'm not even sure which way is up at this point," Ben admitted.

Just then, the door opened as Elyse loudly entered her house, dragging Ursula behind her. Ben gulped as his breath caught in his chest. Ursula looked stunning. Her hair was down from its usual braid, cascading around her face in violently black curls, making her silver eyes look even more striking. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, giving her a beautiful glow. It took him back to last Christmas after their Quidditch game when they snogged in the broom shed at Annabelle's house. She shrugged out of her coat to reveal a Gryffindor red, fitted jumper. It was a v neck cut and it showed off her beautifully elegant neck. Hanging from her neck was a familiar locket, the one that Ben had given her last Christmas.

"Hot damn," Pat muttered from next to Ben.

One second later, a pair of dark haired boy stumbled into the living room, practically covered in snow. Sirius shook his head like a dog, shaking the snow over everyone near him. James shoved him quite hard, sending him stumbling towards the stairs. Once he regained his footing, he and James quickly ran around the girls and accosted Pat.

"You must be Pat."

"You're dating our Lucky."

"Unfortunately, we aren't allowed to threaten you with as much damage as we can actually do."

"But we can still strike fear in your little Irish heart."

"You see, we really like Lucky."

"She's very important to us."

"You you hurt her in any way—"

"We are not responsible for what we will do to you."

"What may happen might be illegal in eight countries."

"And be against the laws of different governments."

"But we don't particularly care."

"Understand?"

Pat, for what it was worth, didn't falter at all. He calmly nodded. "Understood."

"Wonderful. I'm James Potter."

"And I'm Sirius Black."

"Nice to meet you," They said together as they both simultaneously grabbed Pat's hand. The second their hands connected, Pat jumped and let out a startled yelp.

"WOOT TEH HELL!" He shouted as he ripped his hands out of their grasps.

They smirked and held up their hands to reveal little hand buzzer.

"We should look into getting more of these muggle pranks. I didn't think it would work so well." James commented as he carefully took off the buzzer and put it in his coat pocket.

Elyse, who was now standing right behind the two boys, reached up and smacked them both painfully on the back of their heads.

"Ow! What was that for? You said we couldn't hurt him that bad!" Sirius complained, rubbing the back of his head.

Elyse simply gave him a look and gestured towards Pat, who was looking at the pair curiously. "Woot's a 'muggle prank'?"

Sirius's face paled slightly as he realized his slip. "Oops," he apologized to Elyse.

Ursula quickly replied with a save, "It's a shop near our school, it's called Muggle. The owner is a bit odd and is known for being a little unreliable with his goods."

Pat nodded, thankfully accepting the answer. "Yeh must be Ursula." He held out his hand for her to shake.

She smiled, "I am Ursula Black. It's nice to finally meet you." She put her slender hand in his. He smiled in return and squeezed her hand gently before letting it go.

"So which one's yer brother again? I know someone told me," he said gesturing towards Sirius and James who had gone off to talk to Remus and Peter. Every so often, they would look over and glare at Ben, not happy with his proximity to Ursula.

"Sirius is my twin but James is my brother in all but blood."

"Twin? Whose older?" Pat questioned.

"Sirius likes to think he's the older brother but I'm older than him."

"Elyse tells me almost all o' yeh're on teh school football team. Me 'n me friends play too. We should git a game together tomorrow o somethin." Pat offered, wanting to get to try to mix the group of friends up together.

Ursula shook her head, "I would love to but most of us are leaving tonight or tomorrow morning. Our families want us home for the holidays."

"Some other time then."

"Sounds wonderful," Ursula said brightly, looking forward to spending time with Pat. She may have just met him but she had heard Elyse speak about him for the last three years. He'd done nothing but treat Elyse right and he seemed like a sincerely good person who cared a great deal for her friend. Throughout the entire time they had been talking, she had noticed that every so often he would look towards Elyse.

"Ursula!" Elyse called from upstairs. "Kin yeh come here fer a second!"

"Excuse me," Ursula said as she stepped between Pat and Ben and disappeared up the stairs. Ben felt shivers go down his back when Ursula brushed past him, her achingly familiar vanilla fragrance filled his senses.

Pat shook his head in astonishment, "Yeh really messed up, didn't yeh."

"How do you know about that?" Ben questioned, his brow scrunching up in confusion.

"Elyse wrote ter me about everythin that 'appened. I know it's not teh same, boot I know woot yeh's been goin through. Me best mate Seamus was killed in a train accident three years back, right before I started datin Elyse. It's rough 'n I know I said some thins that were wrong. Elyse probably should've dumped me. I was being a right prat; I wouldn't've blamed her. Boot she stuck by me 'n I love her fer that. If a mess up like me could git a second chance, you've got one hell o' a shot."

Ben didn't know what to make of Pat's advise, seeing as he was a muggle and didn't know about the entire situation surrounding everything. Added with everything else that had happened lately…

Then everything Pat said registered and Ben stared at him in shock. "You love her?"

Pat turned an admirable shade of red and nodded. "I know I never git ter see her much boot…I love her."

"Good for you," Ben said, clapping his hand down on Pat's shoulder. "You've done the easy part; you've admitted it to yourself. Now you just have to tell her."

The pair looked over when they saw Ursula and Elyse descending from the upstairs carrying a bunch of wrapped packages. They walked across the room, tactfully avoiding James and Sirius who tried to steal their presents, to put them down by the tree. Ursula squatted down to make sure she wouldn't drop anything. By doing that, the back of her shirt rode up slightly, revealing still painful looking scars marring her back. Ben winced as a horrible tidal wave of guilt crashed over him. He had been plagued by the guilt ever since it happened. He should have been there. He had been able to make his transformation for months; he simply was too stubborn to apologize to them and because of that, James and Ursula were almost killed.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one to see the injury. Pat sucked in a quick breath out of shock when he saw it. "Woot teh hell happened to her?" He quietly questioned, still in mild shock for the severity of the injury.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw James trying to subtly lean against the arm of the sofa, taking the pressure off his still not completely healed leg. Deciding that the truth (or at least mostly the truth) was the best way to go, Ben said, "There was an accident. She and James were the ones who got it the worst. Saved Remus's and another classmate's life."

"Damn. Beautiful, powerful, charming, 'n brave. You've got yerself one hell o' a girl, Ben."

"I know. I know," Ben said as he watched her. She was laughing at something Elyse said. She picked up some tinsel that had fallen to the floor and threw it at Elyse. Lost in his own thoughts about Ursula, he didn't notice when Elyse suddenly stilled, having a vision, before quickly recovering.

"Ben?" Pat asked hesitantly. "Kin I ask yeh somethin?"

"Sure why not."

"It's aboot Elyse."

"What about Elyse?" James asked as he and Remus walked over.

Pat seemed more hesitant as the pair joined up. He cleared his throat nervously. "Have yeh ever noticed that she's not…_there_…all teh time? Like she's somewhere o' sometime else?"

All three of them stiffened as Pat described her visions. Pat, unaware of their concern, continued. "'N lately, it looks likes she looked inter teh eyes o' teh Devil himself, like she's haunted by somethin. Her eyes get sad 'n she just knows somethin yeh don't know, somethin yeh don't _want_ ter know."

Ben, James, and Remus all stared at each other, each trying to think of a logical explanation. James had just opened his mouth when something undoubtedly ridiculous was about to spew from his mouth when the phone rang in the kitchen.

"That's me mam. She said she'd call when she needed me home." Pat said. He turned and walked to the kitchen to pick up the phone. The three of them sagged in relief.

"That," James said in a hushed, serious voice, "was too damn close."

"He's going to figure out something is up," Remus added.

"Until then, we just cover our tracks and be extremely careful." Ben said.

James surprisingly didn't snap at Ben. He simply nodded. "Not a single slip." He confirmed. With that, he walked over to talk to Peter and Sirius.

Remus looked at Ben and additionally said, "Pat was telling me that Sean is going around saying we are all wizards like him and we can do magic. That's why Pete and I were doing those tricks for him. He doesn't understand that Pat is getting too close to all of this and soon will start connecting dots."

"You really think he'll figure it out?" Ben questioned skeptically.

Remus nodded gravely, "He's not an idiot. He's already started to figure out Elyse has visions and I overheard him calling Ursula powerful. I think he already subconsciously realizes it. Besides, would it be that bad if he found out? Is there anything your father could do to allow him to keep his memories?"

Ben shook his head, "My dad may be Minister but he knows the law. He can't just make exceptions for his son's friends. Plus with the war building up fire, is a muggle knowing all about the magical world the safest thing for anyone involved?"

Before Remus could answer, Pat walked back up to them.

"I just wanted ter say goodbye. I've got ter go. It was nice meetin yeh." He said as he shook both of their hands.

They reciprocated the farewell and smiled as sincerely as possible considering the topic of their previous conversation.

With that, Pat turned and left. Before the Ben and Remus were able to resume their conversation, Elyse's voice rang out over all the chatter.

"Oi! Listen up! I thought we'd do presents now ter make sure we kin do wootever we want later. So find teh gift yeh wrapped 'n give it ter whoever."

They all moved towards the tree and grabbed their gifts. Ben was thankful he didn't have to get a gift for Sirius or James this year; he had randomly drawn Peter's name from the hat three weeks prior when they decided their Christmas plans. Peter was also thankfully easy to buy for. He instantly knew he was getting candy for his friend. When he went to Honey Dukes, he was delightfully surprised to see that they were selling animal shaped chocolates. It was luck that one of the animals was a rat.

From Elyse, he received about a dozen sheets of music, all of them traditional Irish jigs. He thanked her for the thoughtful gift, trying to ignore his heart clenching painfully at the stiff fresh memory of losing his most prized possession. She simply smiled knowingly.

She leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially in his ear. "Yeh should really go talk ter Ursula. She'd really like yer present."

Ben's eyes widened, internally panicking at how she knew about the gift that he had wrapped for Ursula but didn't fully intend on giving it to her. Elyse smiled slyly and tapped the side of her head, "She'll love it."

He gulped but then nodded, courage building up in his chest as he reached into his pocket to touch the small box. He walked over to Ursula who was talking to Peter as they munched on his new chocolate. Ben gently placed his hand on Ursula's elbow.

"Can I talk to you? Privately?"

Ursula simply stared at him a minute before nodding. "Sure. We can go out front."

They walked towards the door, Ursula leaving first. Ben looked over his shoulder, wondering when James and Sirius would run forward and curse him to next Thursday, only to find that Elyse was distracting both boys.

Taking his window of opportunity, Ben quickly joined Ursula on the front porch.

"What is it?" Ursula asked right off the bat.

Ben cleared his throat and tried to think of everything he wanted to tell her. Just looking at her staring at him with her wonderfully beautiful eyes that seemed to entrap his entire soul, he was at a loss for words. Finally, he said. "You know, Pat told me earlier that I had one hell of a girl, meaning you of course. He said you were beautiful, powerful, charming, and brave. He was right but he was so, so wrong." He stepped forward and wrapped his hands around her upper arms and held her in place, staring at her face the entire time, his face practically begging for her to just listen to him.

"You're passionate about everything and everyone you love, you're the most loyal person I know, you can be hot-tempered and set off at the smallest of things, you're braver, prouder, more courageous than me, you can be so insecure about how beautiful and how worth it you are, you feel forgotten and lonely and hurt, you're intelligent and absolutely brilliant, and you feel so much and care and love so much but you don't let a lot of people see that. You don't want to be seen as weak or not worth it but let me tell you, Ursula Walburga Black, you are worth _everything_.

"And Pat was wrong about another thing. He said that I had you. I don't. I did. At one point, maybe. But I made possibly the biggest mistake of my life letting you go and there isn't a moment I don't wish I could go back and fix all the hurt I caused you. But I can't do that. But I can do one thing. I can spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I can't promise you much and I know that my word probably doesn't mean much but I will never stop proving to you that I am so, so sorry."

Ursula throughout his entire speech was silent, staring at him in shock. Her bright silver eyes he loved so much were open wide and simply staring at him. Her jaw was dropped, as if she didn't believe what he had just said. Deciding that he might as well say the rest of it, he let go of her and reached into his pocket.

"Here, this is your Christmas gift." He handed the small box over to her. She looked at him for only a moment longer before she focused on unwrapping the box. She gasped when she saw it, recognizing the gift. She reached in and pulled out the small book that stretched back to normal size once out of the confines of the box.

"Is this…?"

Ben nodded, "That's Anna's Quidditch playbook. Every trick, play, idea, tip, strategy, and maneuver she had is written down in there."

"Ben…" Ursula trailed off in shock as she flipped through the book. Notes and diagrams written in the painfully familiar handwriting flashed past. She looked up from the book and abruptly wrapped her arms around Ben. "You're back," she murmured into his chest.

It took him a moment to react. But the second his brain caught up, he wrapped his arms around her. They stood like that for a moment before she suddenly and violent shot backwards.

"I almost forgot!" She exclaimed as she darted back in the house. Ben was about to follow her but she reappeared, digging frantically though her bag. Giving up on finding whatever she was looking for, she pulled her wand and accio'd something.

She kept it hidden in the bag as she stared him in the eyes.

"You said your piece, now it's my turn. I went into the boys' dorm about two weeks after the funeral. You were already asleep but around your bed was splinters of wood. Well, I fixed it and I kept it to give it back to you when _you_ were back. I wanted the guy who is the calm to my temper, the most honorable man I knew, who can make me laugh and so happy, who is my one solace surrounded by madness. And I think I finally got him back. So, here, this is for you." She pulled the quickly recognizable case and held it towards him.

"No…" Ben breathed in shock as he took the offered case. He opened the case and all the breath left his body when he saw his beloved instrument. "No." he repeated again as he gently ran his fingers down the neck of the violin.

He looked up at her, pure joy shining in his eyes, "No."

She laughed while nodding, "Oh yes."

Ben joined in her laughter. Carefully, he set the violin down on the swing on the front porch. Then, without warning, he grabbed Ursula around the waist, picking her up, and spinning her around. She balanced her hands on his shoulders, laughing genuinely with Ben for what felt like the first time in years.

"Put me down!"

He set her down but didn't let her go. Practically drunk with euphoria, he cupped her face with his hands and kissed her impulsively.

Reality crashed down on Ben. He let her go and both of them jumped back. Ursula stared at him with wide, stunned eyes. Ben was sure he reciprocated her expression. She cleared her throat, "Why don't we go back in?"

He nodded rapidly, "Sounds good." He held the door open and Ursula walked in, offering him a smile in thanks. Ben waited a moment, hitting his head against the side of the door a few times talking to himself, "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

"Not stupid." Ursula said, making Ben jolt back, stunned. "Just…unexpected." She offered him one of her gorgeous smiles before disappearing back into the house. Ben shook his head in exasperation. That girl was going to drive him mad. And he would enjoy every minute of it.

Later that afternoon, the seven teens found themselves sitting around the television watching a movie. Peter, Ursula, and Sirius were sitting on the sofa. Technically, only the boys were sitting; Ursula was lounging. She was resting her back against her brother's shoulder while resting her feet on Peter's lap, a bowl of popcorn resting on her stomach. Every so often she would toss one up and catch it in her mouth. James and Elyse were sitting on the smaller sofa with their own bowl of popcorn. It was only half full because they had fought over it earlier and spilled half of it on the ground. The only two sitting on the ground were Remus and Ben, both of them sitting against the sofa.

"I don't get why they're always singing," Sirius complained.

Ursula rolled her eyes, "Stop being complaining and enjoy the movie."

"How can I enjoy it when they are running around singing all the time?"

Remus rolled his eyes, "It's a good movie about a family in Nazi invaded Austria."

"Yeh can't hate on teh Von Trapps," Elyse affirmed.

Sirius snorted, "I wish they would _shut_ their traps."

Elyse didn't get a chance to respond when she was once again suddenly and unexpectedly pulled into a vision.

_James and Sirius were standing side by side, dueling four Death Eaters at the same time. James got a lucky shot that disarmed and incapacitated two of their adversaries. _

"_Nice one James!" Sirius cheered._

_James smirked confidently but focused back on his duel. A little bit off to the side, Remus was bent over a small girl, protecting her from debris from a small explosion. When the rubble finished falling, he grabbed her and ran into a nearby shop and came back out empty handed. Peter was off, using his patronus to ward off Dementors. _

_Ursula was off on her own, currently fighting off two Death Eaters on her own, barely able to get her own attack in, simply defending herself. Out of nowhere, Ben tackled one of the Death Eaters and quickly incapacitated him or her. _

"_Are you alright!?" He demanded of her when he joined her in the fight against the remaining Death Eater. _

"_Yeah, where's Elyse?" _

"_She was helping Remus get the kids to safety."_

_A light enveloped the Death Eater and fell to the ground, revealing Elyse standing there. She twirled her wand and blew the top of it like it was a gun in an old American Western film. "Miss me?"_

_Before they could respond, a look of horror overcame her face and she turned around, seeing Pat looking out from behind a nearby building, his eyes wide and his jaw slack, unable to believe what he was witnessing. _

_Ursula and Ben followed her gaze and saw him and knew instantly that he had seen what they had done, what all of them had done and were able to do._

"_Pat—" Elyse began, pleading with him to listen to her._

_But her explanation was cut short when Ben suddenly shoved Ursula to the side, only to be hit by a spell himself, the force of it sending him flying back into the side of a building._

"_NO!"_

Elyse was suddenly brought back to the present and she looked in horror at her friends. They were all wearing the same clothes as in her vision.

"Elyse?" Peter questioned when she suddenly became very panicked. "What's wrong?"

"Turn off teh telly," she demanded.

"What?" James said.

"Turn off teh telly!" She shouted this time, fear and anger filling her usually calm voice.

Remus reached forward and turned off the television. They sat in silence for a moment before Sirius questioned, "Why are we sitting here in silence? Not that I'm complaining, that singing was getting bloody annoying." He got a slap on the stomach courtesy of Ursula for his comment.

"There's gonna be Death Eaters 'ere." Elyse admitted.

All of them instantly stiffened and reached for their cleverly concealed wands.

"What? How do you know?" Ben questioned.

"I just saw it. We're wearin' teh same clothes 'n it was daylight."

Peter shook his head slowly in denial, "You're not supposed to tell us your visions. You'll make the future happen or something like that."

Elyse snapped, "It's gonna happen soon so yeh might as well know aboot it!"

Right as she said that multiple, distinct, faint cracks were heard coming from the village. The first scream had barely hit their ears before the seven Gryffindors were sprinting out of the house, their wands in their hands. They made it in record time.

James led the charge, not even slowing down as he ran right into the middle of the slaughter, stunning one of the Death Eaters without any hesitation. From then on, they split up. Elyse looked at Remus for a moment and said, "Teh children."

He nodded and ran forward with her, casting shield charms and other protective charms as they ran towards were a group of five to seven year older sat huddled together underneath a slide in the park. There was an old building nearby that was the strongest building in town so Elyse directed Remus towards it.

"They'll be safer there," she quickly explained as they each grabbed two kids; either picking them up or grabbing their hands and pulling them away. Remus nodded and cast as many protective charms as he could quickly remember on the doors and windows.

The blood rushed through Elyse's veins as she quickly surveyed the scene, trying to make sure there weren't any children involved. She knew the Death Eaters would have no qualms about killing a defenseless muggle child and she would never be able to live with herself if she accidentally forgot one of them. Added on top of her fear was the safety of her friends. She'd seen far enough into the vision to know that they would be able to hold their own (plus, she had seen them as full grown adults in the past so she knew they survived past this) but she didn't want any harm to come to them.

A cry caught her attention but before she could react, Remus was running, dodging, and reflecting spell after spell to get to the child hiding under an obviously unstable awning. An explosion hid them from her view for a moment but he soon was running back with the little girl. Elyse saw one more boy hiding in a tree and prompted him to get down. Once he was on his feet, she goaded him into the safe building before hearing Ursula asking about her whereabouts.

Elyse ran up behind the Death Eater and petrified him before smirking at her mildly stunned friends, "Miss me?"

It was then that she had realized that her vision had come true. She had hope in some corner of her mind that she would have been able to stop it before it happened but it all happened so quickly that she was unable to avoid Pat seeing it. She turned to see Pat staring at her with something she had hoped to never see in his eyes. Fear. And not just simple fear. Fear of _her_.

"Pat—" She began, trying to find the word to comfort him, to tell him that she was still the Elyse he knew and loved. She simply stared at him, trying to convey all of that simply with her eyes, hoping he could see that she was still her.

It was when Ben violently shoved Ursula to the side and flew backwards was she snapped out of her daze. She heard Ursula cry out, her voice haunting and so distraught.

Before anything else happened, before anyone was able to move, more people apparated in. This time, instead of cloaked and masked figures, Aurors, along with the Minister and the Potters, appeared. Quickly, the adults moved in and subdued the murderers.

Elyse nearly sagged with relief, that is, until she saw Pat still staring at the scene. His mouth had dropped open and he pointed to where the wizards and witches had just apparated in.

"They—appeared—magic—thin air—real?" His chest started to rise and fall rapidly as he began to panic. His eyes started to roll up to the back of his head and Elyse barely ran forward in time to catch him before he hit his head on the ground.

This was not good. Not good at all, for anyone involved. And the worst part was that for the second time in the past month, her visions failed to tell her what to do. And for the very first time, she truly knew what it felt like not to be able to see the future.

It was terrifying.


	14. Significant Others

_So this was actually written last night and I was just about to post it when my computer spazzed and I lost the second half of this chapter. A bit of a bummer but I actually like it more the second time around._

_There isn't much I need to say but I do want to respond to the questions about Elyse being Seamus's mom. I can't say. Sorry, I feel slightly evil, but this is just one of those plot lines that can't be spoiled otherwise part of the story will be ruined. So sorry, I can't really say anything about it. She might be his mom, she might not be. That's all I will say._

_Well, with that said, here's the next chapter of ABAWS: B4. I hope you enjoy._

* * *

The O'Brian household was a cacophony of noise. Pat felt his heart frantically beating while he didn't seem to be able to breathe properly. His eyes were staring blankly out into the living room, seeing but not fully comprehending. His mind was still two hours ago when he saw his girlfriend pull out a wand and use _magic_. No, not a card trick or some creative disappearing act; she cast an honest to God spell right in front of his eyes. But that wasn't even the end of it; her friends all possessed this same…ability (he didn't know what to call it), people were appearing _out of thin air_, and there was a cauldron bubbling on the fireplace!

The first person to appear right into the house was a gentle, loving looking woman who had instantly grabbed James, Sirius, and Ursula into a bone crushing hug, kissing each other their heads multiple times, thankful that her babies were alright. The man who appeared right behind her placed his hand on each other the children's backs before walking into the kitchen. Now Mrs. Potter (Pat assumed it was James's mother – they had the same eyes) sat with James and Sirius on either side of her, crushing them to her side. Pat would have thought they would have protested but it seemed at that they understood that their mother needed to know they were safe.

Off to a different side of the living room, a blonde woman stood next to the doctor who was treating Ben's broken ribs. Ursula stood at Ben's side, holding his hand, wincing slightly every time he squeezed in pain when one of the ribs snapped back into place. From where he was in the room, Pat couldn't hear their conversation but he could see the tears in Mrs. White's eyes as she tried to keep her emotions under control for the sake of her son. He knew that she had just lost her daughter just about a year ago so Pat figured that the fear of almost losing her only living child was too much on her.

Remus was sitting on an adjacent sofa to Pat, his mother fussing over every scratch and bump on her son. She alternated between scolding him for being so foolishly reckless and praising him for being so wonderfully brave and saving the children. Nearby, Peter's mother was also fussing over her son, checking him over for every scratch, bump, and bruise.

There was only one person noticeably missing; Elyse. He hadn't seen her yet and he felt his heart twist painfully at that thought. He needed to see her. He needed to make sure she was safe and unhurt. It was driving him mad, not knowing. He also had to speak to her,

"Are you alright?" Remus asked.

Pat's head snapped over to him and was about to answer when Peter snorted and rolled his eyes, "Of course he isn't." he said bitingly. "He knows about us so we're going to have to take care of that and I know that isn't the most pleasant thing."

Pat paled and started shaking, "Woot's gonna 'appen ter me? Where's Elyse? Woot's goin' on?!"

"You know about magic, you know what we can do. What do you think is going to happen? That we're just going to let you walk around knowing?"

Seeing Pat's reaction, Remus glared at Peter. "Wormy, why don't you go talk to James?"

Peter shook his head and leaned back against the sofa, getting comfortable, "Nah, I'm comfy here."

Remus's eyes narrowed, "Peter, take the hint and get out of here."

Grumbling, Peter did as he was told. Once he was gone, Remus turned his attention back to Pat. "Sorry about him, he's not normally like this. We think the Dementors had an effect on him."

"Teh woot?" Pat asked.

"They guard the wizard prison Azkaban. They're cloaked figures that suck the happiness out of everyone and can cause you to relive your worst memories. If one lifts its hood, it can suck out your soul."

Considerably paler than he was before he questioned, "Why're they here?"

And so Remus explained everything. From Lord Voldemort, to Hogwarts, the Minister for Magic, the Death Eaters, and the Aurors, he told Pat everything. Throughout the entire explanation, Pat could only sit and try to understand.

He only had one question when Remus finished.

"Why're yeh tellin' me this?"

Remus sighed and looked at Pat sadly, "Because in all honesty, any moment an adult from the Ministry is going to come and modify your memory to fit the story we've created to explain the deaths."

Pat, aghast, asked, "Yer gonna do that? That's horrible!"

Remus nodded solemnly, "They've already done it before here. I'm sorry."

"Woot do yeh mean before?"

"Remember three Christmases ago? When the train came off the railing and crashed down the center of town? It was a similar attack. Elyse used underage magic which alerted the ministry and they came in to save as many as possible."

"Yer lyin'." Pat said desperately. "Yer lyin because I saw teh victims! Me best friend died!"

Remus hung his head lowly, a bit of shame but mostly pity clear in his eyes when he looked up. "I'm sorry Pat but just think about it a moment. A train went down the middle of this town and not a single building was knocked down? The people who died without a scratch on them? Everyone's memory was altered."

"But I remember…"

"You remember what we want you to remember." He explained gently, trying not to send Pat into the panic attack he was clearly on the verge of.

Pat shook his head, "I need ter see Elyse." He went to stand up but Remus gently pushed him back down.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now."

Pat shoved Remus's hand away. "Don't tell me woot yeh think's a good idea right now! I need ter go talk ter Elyse right this bloody second!

"Woot's goin' on over there?" Elyse questioned, hearing Pat's shouting.

He sprung up to his seats and grabbed Elyse into bone crushing hug. "Yeh beautiful, beautiful lass! I don't care if yeh's a witch! I don't bloody care aboot woot they're gonna do ter me because I won't tell 'em! Yer mine 'n I can't imagine a day goin' by witoot yeh. Woot ever I need ter do, I'll do to keep me memories because I don't want ter forget a thing aboot teh girl I love."

Elyse stared up at Pat in shock, her green eyes wide. She gently cupped her face. "Do yeh mean that?"

He nodded solemnly and grabbed her hands in his and kissed the back of them. "I love yeh Elyse Catherine O'Brian."

She wasn't able to respond before Pat suddenly glared fiercely at someone standing behind her. Jay White didn't falter at the harsh gaze. Instead, he actually started to laugh. "I guess that settles that." With that, he turned and walked over towards his shell shocked son and wife.

"Um…Dad?" Ben questioned as he watched Elyse pull Pat out of the house to speak to him privately. "You do know that he knows, right?"

Mr. White nodded, "I am aware. Elyse informed me of some future events where his knowledge of magic would be advantageous for all of us."

"You're not going to obliviate him?" Ursula queried, shock evident in her voice.

"I was doubtful at first but hearing her reasoning and the information she offered, then to see his declaration of love, it is no longer a question."

"What could Elyse have possibly seen?" Mrs. White questioned.

Mr. White looked at the teens and debated saying anything. They stared at him inquisitively but he simply shook his head, "This future could possibly involve both of you. It's best you don't know."

"I understand." Ben nodded, agreeing with his father. He knew what knowledge of the future could do and what you tried to expect from it. He has spent many months furious at Elyse for not telling him about the vision of his sister's death. She had obviously known about it and yet had done nothing. But the more he thought about it, the worse the idea seemed. At first, he thought he would have had time to prepare himself for losing the only sibling he had. He would have spent more time with her and he would have cherished every moment. But after a while, he began to realize that knowing would have made it worse. Every moment would be tainted with that knowledge and he would tear himself apart trying to figure out how to save her only to undoubtedly fail in the end. He could only imagine what Elyse had to deal with on a daily basis and he was no longer envious of her ability.

"Well I don't. It was Elyse telling us of the invasion that was about to happen that let us know what to do to make the vision come true. Future knowledge _is_ helpful." Ursula argued.

"I do concede that the death toll today would have been much lower if all the villages targeted had had at least some warning time." Mr. White recognized.

"Other villages?" Ben inquired, a tinge horrified at the implied statement.

Mr. White suddenly no longer looked like a concerned father or friend; he morphed into the weary and burdened Minister. "Six other villages all over the Isles were attacked at the same time. All of them had at least one muggle born witch or wizard residing there. At the last report I received, almost seven hundred are dead or severely injured."

Ben saw something in his father's eyes that made uneasy. "Dad…was it any one I know?"

"The preliminary reports seem to indicate that the intended targets were Hogwarts students."

"Who?" Ursula demanded of the Minister.

"No one was killed, although a Ravenclaw sixth year lost both of his legs and one student lost both of his parents. I cannot give any names but I will say that Gryffindor Tower will stay at the same capacity upon your return in a week."

Ursula practically fell against the wall and she let her head fall back. "Thank God," she muttered, her eyes closed. Images of her beloved roommates and their families flashed to the forefront of her brain. Ben placed his arm around her and pulled her against him. She didn't resist, her head coming to rest at the crook of his neck. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back comfortingly.

Ben's parents shared a look. It appeared that their son had finally gathered the courage to properly apologize to Ursula. It was about darn time.

A very loud crash ruined the moment. Peter had run into the coffee table and was grabbing his shin as he rolled on the ground in pain. Ursula disentangled herself from Ben and rolled her eyes. "I'll go make sure he doesn't amputate his leg trying to heal it." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and smiled at his parents before going over to Peter.

"I see you've finally fixed things with that girl," Mrs. White teased her son. "It was about time."

Ben flushed under his parent's amused and I-told-you-so faces. "Aw, come on Mom." Ben was thankfully saved from any further teasing when an Auror walked over and requested that the Minister join him and the other Aurors for an update.

"Saved by the bell," Ben muttered to himself when he saw his parents walking away. He didn't notice Peter's furious glare on his back as Ben went to greet the just apparated in Gideon and Fabian.

Ursula noticed his sour look (just not who it was directed to) and tried to change that. "I don't think that I properly thanked you for earlier."

Peter jumped and flushed a brilliant red, "For what?"

"Your patronus. If you hadn't warded off those Dementors it would've been too much for the rest of us. You probably saved at least one of our lives today. So thank you." She looked up from healing his leg for a moment to smile gratefully at him.

"Y-y-you're welcome."

There was a lull in the conversation so Ursula randomly asked, "So how are things going with Claire?"

Peter shrugged and looked away from her. "I think I'm going to break up with her."

Ursula frowned, "Why? I like Claire; she's good for you."

He shook his head vehemently. "I don't care for her that way. Th—th—there's someone...I think there's someone else better for me."

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. She never really saw Peter converse with people of the opposite sex often. Who could it possibly be? "Really? Who?"

Peter flushed and shook his head but Ursula continued to press the issue, "Do I know her? Is she in our House? Older? Younger?"

"It's no one." _That's a lie. _Peter thought to himself. _You're everything but no one._

Ursula, realizing that Peter was not going to give her any more information, conceded and continued working on his leg. She did have one last thing to add, however. "For what it's worth, I think whoever it is, she is lucky to date you. You're a great guy Peter. But if you are going to pursue this other girl, Claire deserves a clean break; she's a really nice person and is very kind."

"I know. I know," he agreed. He could only fake it for so long. He had been losing feelings for Claire for a while now. Ever since the incident a few months ago where Ursula almost died…Peter couldn't remember ever feeling such terror. There was only one person in the world for him and it wasn't the Hufflepuff. It was the girl hovering over his leg fixing it. The only _thing_ that stood in his way was standing a little farther off to the side standing with Sirius and James. Peter smiled ruefully, James and Sirius were going to Ben into the next millennium. Only, that wasn't the case. To his horror and disgust, Ben made a comment that sent the other pair into a fit of laughter. Sirius clapped Ben's shoulder affectionately and James retorted, all the while smiling amicably.

This was not good. This was not good at all.

* * *

Back at Hogwarts, the news quickly traveled across the houses and up and down the years. A Ravenclaw seventh year named Geoffrey Davies would not be returning for at least another month. His brother, Thomas, a third year Gryffindor, explained to his house. His brother, who had been accepted to begin the Auror program in the fall after receiving his NEWT scores, had taken an 'active defense' against the Death Eaters when they attacked their hometown in northern Scotland. The Death Eaters quickly labeled him as their main target and he was soon overpowered by six of them. They decided to torture Geoffrey and his parents as they made his mother and father watch as they joint by joint cut off their son's legs while he was still conscious. The Aurors soon showed up and either killed or captured the remaining Death Eaters (the ones who didn't immediately apparate out) but it was too late to save his legs. The right was gone from his hip joint down while the other was just below the knees.

Davies had been the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team. James respected the man. When the Gryffindor team had been down Ursula, Sirius, and James right after the accident, Davies offered to play the game with matching numbers and player positions. While James ordered Elyse, at the time the acting captain, to refuse the offer, Davies respected the Gryffindors enough to push his team to not hold back against the crippled team, the matter of the Lion's pride on the line.

Later that night, Ursula and Elyse walked into their dorm only to freeze in shock. Bubbly, crazy Alice, who normally put her long hair in wacky and crazy styles, now had a short pixie cut, the top of her hair barely touching her ears.

"Hello, Ursula! Hello, Elyse!" She bubbly greeted them. "Do you like the new 'do?"

"Woot 'append ter yer beautiful hair?" Elyse asked in shock as she walked over to Alice and ruffled her extremely short hair.

Alice laughed, "I was just telling Marlene! The Death Eaters attacked my town and some creeps in robes burst into my house when I was doing my hair. The arse set it on fire but I just grabbed my wand and cut off the burning part! So tada! What do you think?" She spun in a circle, showing off her new short locks.

Ursula shook her head in shock and then quickly gathered herself together, "Wait a second, where did you throw the burning hair?"

Alice flushed and Marlene started laughing. "That ditz over there threw it on the ground." Marlene said between laughs. "She burnt her house to the ground."

"Oh, Alice, I'm so sorry," Elyse said as she gathered her friend into a hug.

"It's not that bad. We didn't have much there yet because we just moved in at the start of break; Mom and Dad wanted a bigger house. So we just moved again."

"Tell them the best part," Marlene added with a sly smirk.

Alice flushed pink and muttered something about neighbors.

"What was that?" Ursula asked, jokingly cupping her hand behind her ears. "I'm a bit hard of hearing."

"My new neighbor is Frank Longbottom."

Ursula and Elyse joined Marlene laughing. The trio started laughing harder as Alice turned redder and redder. It was then that Ursula realized that Lily was not in her usual spot on her bed.

"Guys, where's Lily?"

The question was answered when the door swung open and Lily shuffled through the door and face planted on her bed. The four girls shared a look of confusion before Ursula walked over and placed a hand on Lily's shoulder, "Lily?"

It took a moment for Lily to respond but when she did, it was directly into the comforter so no one was able to hear her.

"Lily, you're going to have to speak up."

When Lily lifted her head, they were all shocked to see her beautiful green eyes were dull and rimmed with red. "Gabe and I broke up."

"Oh, Lily," Ursula laid down on the bed next to Lily, wrapping her arms around the red head.

"Do you want me to go kill him?" Marlene asked. "Just say you want me to kill him and I'll kill him."

Lily laughed for a moment through her tears. "That won't be necessary. I broke up with him."

By now, all three girls were laying on Lily's bed, each offering their silent comfort.

"If yeh don't mind me askin', why?" Elyse questioned.

Lily hiccupped as she tried to hold back another sob. "He's perfect. He's exactly what I thought would make me happy; he's kind, smart, funny, sweet, and just so perfect to me." She paused a moment as she tried to hold back more tears. "I hated it." She admitted softly. "It was maddening."

"It'll be alright, Lily," Elyse comforted her. "Yeh'll git yer perfect man. I've got a feelin' he's right under yeh's nose."

Lily smiled slightly at those words, knowing that this feeling wouldn't last forever. She sat up slightly and looked at the other girls, "Enough about me! What about you guys? Ursula, any news with…you know?" Lily's gaze flickered down to the gold necklace hanging from her neck.

Ursula smiled softly and reached up to touch piece of jewelry. "Ben and I are back together."

Lily's eyes widened and she gathered Ursula in a hug, "Oh, congratulations! That's wonderful news!" Elyse started laughing and the two stopped embracing only to see Marlene and Alice staring at Ursula with wide, unbelieving eyes. Ursula realized her slip and swore under her breath.

"Back?"

"Together?"

"AGAIN?" They screeched together.

Ursula winced, at the nonhuman shriek they somehow managed to produce and at her own stupidity for forgetting to tell her roommates about her relationship with Ben.

"Yeah, we dated last year for a little bit." She admitted, nervously rubbing the back of her neck.

Alice leaned forward and painfully slapped Ursula on the arm. "Why did you tell us?" Alice slapped her again. "You should have told us!" Slap. "Why did you break up?" Another slap. "Why did you get back together?" She was just about to slap her again when Lily reached forward and stopped the over enthusiastic girl from causing actual harm to Ursula.

Just when Ursula thought she was safe, another slap, this time from Marlene hit the other arm. "More importantly, is he a good kisser?" She asked with a sly smirk on her face.

"Marlene!" Ursula admonished, feeling her face slowly start to heat up.

Marlene shrugged nonchalantly, "What, it's a legitimate question. Besides, you owe us all the juicy details for not telling us about you dating the Prince of Gryffindor."

Ursula raised an eyebrow, "Prince of Gryffindor?"

Alice waved her hand, dismissing the question. "Never mind. From the beginning. Details. Spill. Now." She commanded.

Ursula groaned but couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. "It started last school year after the Slytherin Quidditch game. His brother-in-law told him how to get up there and when they couldn't find me, he stole James's broom to fly up there." She paused as she remembered her yelling at him that 'Whites don't fancy Blacks' before the one memory that would forever be seared in her mind, "That was where we first kissed. We decided to keep our relationship a secret…"

The entire story fell from Ursula's lips. For the most part, Alice and Marlene were the most shocked but occasionally Ursula said something that surprised even Lily or Elyse. Ursula normally wouldn't have been so open with anyone but she had lived with these girls for five years and she would trust them with her life. They were always open with her so it was high time she return the favor.

Later that night, after they had all decided to go to bed, Ursula was just about to fall asleep when Elyse hissed from her bed, "psst, Ursula? Yeh awake?"

"Mhm," Ursula muttered back.

"Do yeh think yer in love wit Ben?"

Ursula sat straight up at the question, "What?"

Elyse repeated her question. "Do yeh think yer in love wit Ben?"

"I don't think so. We're only sixteen. We're too young to know what real love is. I mean, I haven't really had the best role models for love, or any emotion at all, growing up. But I think I could be able to one day love someone like how the Potters love each other."

"It's stupid that yeh say that. Yeh've teh most capacity ter love, yeh love wit all yer heart. Yeh aren't afraid ter tell people how yeh feel because yeh live in teh moment."

Ursula was now concerned. There was something off in Elyse's voice. "What's this about because it certainly isn't about me."

Elyse was silent a moment before she meekly admitted, "I think I'm in love wit Pat."

"Elyse, that's wonderful!" Ursula said, not understanding why it sounded like Elyse was about to burst into tears. "What's wrong with that?"

"I can't love him. I just can't." She took a shuddering breath, "I don't think he's mine ter love."

"Damn your visions or whatever you're assuming from them!" Ursula said forcefully. "We almost died a week ago and Pat almost did too. I don't care if you think you aren't married to him in the future and you have two kids and have a nice little house with a white picket fence. You aren't there yet. If you love him, right now, in this moment, with everything the way it is, just let it be."

"I don't know if I kin do that." Elyse admitted softly.

"Elyse, take it from someone who is terrified of feeling love and feels like she doesn't deserve it, if you love someone and they love you back, sometimes you need to throw caution and logic to the wind and just let yourself live your life."

"I know," Elyse admitted. "It's just…" she struggled to find the words she wanted.

Ursula understood and nodded, "I know too. Just get some sleep tonight and think on it. You don't have to do anything today."

"Alright. Goodnight, Muse."

"'Night, Lucky."

With that, Ursula laid back down on her bed and nestled into her blankets. Within minutes, she was asleep. The same could not be said for Elyse, who simply stared at the canopy over her bed, her mind too jumbled and confused to sleep. Sighing in defeat, Elyse rolled over and grabbed her journal and her colored quills and went to work documenting some of her most recent visions. It was going to be a long night, she thought when the first figure she drew was Lord Voldemort standing over James's body.


	15. First Moon

_Hey guys, I all hope that the rest of my fellow Americans had a safe and happy Fourth of July. To any British or otherwise English speaking readers, I still hope you had a wonderful week. I really hope that you all enjoy this chapter because this has been one of the moments that the story has been building to. If you can't guess from the title, this will be the first time they all spend the night with Moony. _

_And since no story is that simple, I threw in some relationships. I kind of wanted to show the contrast between Ben/Ursula and Lily/James. And since this story is a tiny bit late, I decided to throw something in for the Jily shippers. I wont' say what it is but it was just an idea that was too perfect to ignore. I hope you all like it.  
_

_Without further delay, please enjoy the next chapter._

* * *

Upon their return to classes, the tone to everything immediately changed. With OWLs looming over them like a dark shadow, students were given more and more homework. There was barely a moment's rest for any fifth year, no matter what house.

While the change was expected, there was one change that no one saw coming.

It was their first day back in Defense Against the Dark Arts. James plopped down on his seat and kicked his feet up, knowing that they were going to be in for a fun lesson. Pod would probably want a play by play of all the duels that had occurred between his students and Death Eaters the previous week.

"I can't wait for this," Sirius said, just as excited as James.

Elyse nodded, "Do yeh think he'll want play by play o' just description?"

"He's more of a play by play guy," Peter commented.

Ursula punched Peter jokingly in the shoulder, "You just want to show off your patronus, Wormy."

He blushed red but didn't try to refute the claim. Before anyone else was able to say anything, Pod came down from his office, looking a mess. His hair was wild, his clothes disheveled, and there were bags underneath his eyes, like he hadn't slept in days.

"Alright students, turn to page 623 in your book and start reading about the theory of hexes and their uses." With that, he turned to sit and his desk and start to scribble furiously on a sheet of parchment.

All the student looked at each other in shock. Lily was the first one to raise her hand. Pod didn't seem to notice as he mumbled nonsense to himself as he continued writing. Finally, she cleared her throat and Pod looked up. "What do you want, Evans? The assignment is clear."

"I know that, Professor, but we've already covered hexes in your lectures. You said before break that when we return, we would be jumping right into practical application of nonverbal spells—"

"I KNOW WHAT I SAID!" Pod exploded. All the students jumped back in their seat, scared by his outburst. They had never seen their cool, calm, and collected Professor act so agitated. "You've already had your practical application over break. See how well that turned out?!" He shouted at Lily.

James immediately jumped in, "What are you talking about? We're all fine."

Pod seemed to seethe at the challenge to his statement. "If you were all fine," he ground out through his clenched jaw, "then my roster would not have gone down. Since that has already happened, WHAT I SAID WAS WRONG! NOW READ YOUR DAMN BOOKS AND LEARN SOMETHING THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY SAVE YOUR LIFE!" He knocked over several things on his desk as he violently sat back down, practically yanking the desk to him.

Not a single word was said the rest of class period.

The second they were out the door, they were anything but silent.

"What the hell just happened in there?" Sirius questioned.

Before anyone could speculate, Elyse responded, "He feels guilty aboot woot happened ter Davies. He was teh one that taught Davies everythin' that ended up getting' him killed. He's writin' his letter o' resignation ter Dumbledore right now 'n will give it ter him in three weeks. He thinks that if he leaves now 'n we get a proper teacher, we'll have a better chance of surviving."

"Will Dumbledore let him leave midyear?" Peter questioned.

Elyse shook her head, "Nah, he'll convince 'im ter stay till teh end o' teh year. After that, he's gone."

"Elyse, was this one of your visions?" Ben asked softly, mindful of the students passing by in the crowded hall.

She nodded, "Just saw it."

"You can't be telling us this stuff," Ben said. "We aren't supposed to know."

Elyse just shrugged, "It doesn't affect yeh directly so woot does it matter?"

"It's principal," Ben tried to explain but was cut off by Sirius.

"Principal, Shmincipal. Like she said, it's not like she told us anything about our lives; just about the life of our teacher." Sirius said as threw his arm around Elyse's shoulders.

Ben shook his head, "But what is something slips. Do you want to know when you're going to die Sirius? Which one of us will die first? What if it's something about Ursula, would you be able to bear knowing?" At the thought, he reached out and grabbed Ursula's hand tightly.

Peter rolled his eyes, "You're thinking too much into this."

"You're thinking too little into this." Ben shot back, annoyed that they all seemed to blasé about this.

Remus, ever the mediator, distracted everyone by saying, "Guys, if we don't hurry up, we'll be late for McGonagall's class."

The distraction worked as all seven rushed to get to Minnie's class on time, not wanting to be late for their favorite class.

The next two weeks continued much the very same way. They were bogged down by homework, still somehow making time for pranks against the Slytherins, while James, Elyse, Ben, and Ursula made time for Quidditch practice. It drove Ursula mad sitting on the sidelines, still out because Madame Pomfrey refused to clear her for playing because of her head injury.

It was two days before the full moon after practice and Ursula and Ben had decided to go on a walk around the Black Lake. The setting sun reflected off the water and the beautifully white snow that still lay mostly undisturbed.

"The full moon is in two days," Ben commented innocently.

Ursula gave him a sideways look and nodded, "I'm aware."

After a moment of silence, he continued. "I don't think that you should go with us to accompany Moony."

Ursula stopped midstride. "You what?" She demanded in a scarily calm voice.

"With what happened last time, I don't think you should come with us."

"Have you told James not to stay back?" she challenged.

"No, that's different."

"No it's not!" She shouted back, fully and properly enraged at this point. "James suffered just as serious injuries as me and you're not telling him to sit out on what we've worked the last four years on!"

Ben shook his head, "I'm not dating James."

"No, he's just one of your best friends and roommates. Why on Earth would you care about him?!" She sarcastically and angrily asked.

"Why are we talking about James?" Ben questioned. "This is about you."

"This is about _YOU_! _You_ don't want me to go to the Shrieking Shack Friday. _You_ are the one. Not me."

Ben tried to reach out to her, to embrace her, but she only stepped back. "It's because I care about you. I don't want to see you hurt."

Ursula huffed and rolled her eyes, "Newsflash, Ben, I'm going to get hurt. Either in Quidditch, when I finally join the Order, or helping Remus; I'm going to get hurt."

"I can't accept that," Ben argued, trying to speak calmly to sooth Ursula, who was irate and downright furious at that moment. "I just want to protect you."

"You did one hell of a job last time," she shot back quickly.

Ben recoiled as if he had been struck, her words hurting him more than he could ever describe. He had blamed himself for months about what happened so to hear her say it out loud…it hurt than the cruciatus curse.

Ursula gasped the moment those words came out of her mouth. She moved forwards and tentatively wrapped her arms around his still form. "Ben, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it," she apologized into his wool jacket.

After an antagonizing long moment, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I'm the one who should be sorry."

"You have always been forgiven."

The pair stood like that for a while, neither of them knowing how long. They simply reveled in each other's warm embrace. Occasionally, Ben would run his hand through Ursula's curly hair, at least the part that wasn't covered by her hat. She simply snuggled closer to his chest, lulled into a state of unbelievable calmness by his steady heartbeat.

In the distance, they could hear the clock tower chiming, signaling that it was time for dinner. Reluctantly, the pair broke away but only after sharing a loving kiss. Hand in hand, they walked back to the castle.

"You know I'm still going on Friday." Ursula commented once they were nearing the Great Hall.

Ben chuckled and nodded, bringing her hand up to his lips to leave a gentle kiss over her gloved knuckles, "I wouldn't expect anything else."

Their moment was ruined when James stood up and shouted for the entire Hall to hear, "Oi! Love birds! Get over here!"

The pair laughed at the antics of their friends when Sirius reached up and violently yanked James back down, causing him to knock over an entire cup full of pumpkin juice on Peter's lap. Some things would never change with them.

* * *

Remus was lying on his bed, trying to fight off yet another wave of nausea. The full moon was later that night and he had been feeling the symptoms for the last three days. His head felt like it was splitting open, his body temperature was rising, and all of his muscles ached. Classes had just ended for that day but it was a Friday so he wasn't expecting any of the guys to come back before he had to leave. They had without a doubt done something idiotic in the last day or so that warranted them getting detention.

That was why he was startled when the door was violent flung open as his four roommates walked in. Ben placed his books on the table next to his bed while Peter ran to the loo, complaining about the green goo James had thrown in his hair, while the other two recklessly threw themselves onto their own beds. James grabbed a Quaffle and started tossing it to himself as he narrated a Quidditch game to himself. Sirius on the other hand was surprisingly quieter, opting to read a muggle motorcycle magazine.

"Oi, James, do you think if I get a bike Dad would let me keep it in the shed?" Sirius questioned as he flipped through the magazine.

James shrugged, "I don't see why not. We'll just have to keep Mum from seeing it."

"That'll be a challenge. Sissy hates the idea of it so we'll have to keep her from seeing it too."

Remus stared at the pair in shock. "Correct me if I'm wrong, don't you have detention right now?"

James shook his head and smirked proudly, "Nope. We've kept on our best behavior since you've been out."

Remus raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. Sirius threw a pillow at him, "Don't give us that look!"

"They're not lying, we don't have detention." Ben said honestly. "We wanted to make sure we didn't have anything tonight."

"I even gave up Quidditch practice for this," James added. "It nearly killed me but I gave the pitch to the Ravenclaws."

"Why did you give up practice?"

They all gave him an incredulous look. Ben shook his head and gestured towards James. "You take this one. Muse and I are going to go on a walk. She'll have the mirror if you need us."

James scoffed at Remus's pitifully confused and ill face. "I didn't think that you would forget about your furry little problem tonight of all nights."

Remus rolled his eyes, "I know tonight's the full moon. I don't know how that involves _you_."

"Moony," Sirius explained, "We've all been able to complete our transformations. We're going with you tonight."

The room was silent. Remus stared at the two disbelievingly. He had thought that after what happened in October they would give up on this idiotic idea after he almost _killed_ two of his closest friends. He began to feel panic swell in his chest. He had been able to remember moments of that fateful night. The sick and revolting fun he felt when he sunk his teeth into the black and white dog's back and the morbid glee he remembered feeling seeing the fallen, human James still haunted his nightmares.

Sirius, seeing his panic, tried to placate him, "We've taken precautions since then. It won't just be a dog and a stag trying to wing it. This time there'll be them plus King and me who are both large animals. Wormy and Lucky are a bit smaller but they're quick. We'll be alright."

"I'm sure that's what James thought last time." Remus muttered ruefully.

"I was thinking on a slightly different train of thought." James said in a joking manner but Sirius quickly looked over when he heard something that sounded a bit like fear in his voice. "You should be getting to the infirmary soon. Pomfrey's probably waiting for you."

Remus groaned but nodded, knowing what James said was true. James stood and helped Remus to his feet. "Come on big fella, let's get you out of here."

He wrapped Remus's arm around his own shoulders, taking Remus's weight. He helped him hobble across the room to the door. Sirius grabbed the sleeve of James's jumper, giving him a look that they needed to talk.

"Can you make it down the stairs alone?" James asked Remus.

Remus grunted and started to walk out the door. "If you hear a loud crash and swearing, I can't."

Sirius snorted, "That's reassuring."

He waited until Remus was about halfway down the stairs before he looked James straight in the eyes. "What _were_ you thinking?"

James's usually bright hazel eyes dimmed and Sirius could practically see the façade crumbling.

"I thought I was going to die," James admitted softly. "But all I could think about was the people I love moving on without me." His hand tightened around the door frame for a moment and he looked away from Sirius. "Lily would have never known I died for Snape." He slammed his hand against the door. "She wouldn't have known!"

"James…?" Sirius cautiously placed his hand on James's shoulder. That startled him. James shook his head and quickly left the room, muttering about how he was going on a walk after getting Remus to the infirmary.

Twenty minutes later, Lily, who was returning from the library, was knocked to the ground. The figured didn't even stop to see if she was okay. Grumbling about stupid people who rush through deserted corridors, she picked up her bag and got to her feet. Just as she was up, however, the same figure crashed into her from behind. She stumbled forward.

Now furious, she reached out and grabbed the figure's arm, "Excuse me, I don't care if your mother never taught you any manners, but you're just being an arse at this point!" She shouted at the figure. The corridor was dark enough so that she couldn't make out any distinct features.

"Oh, excuse me Queen Evans."

Lily immediately released his arm and jumped back, "Potter!?"

Even in the dark she could see his sarcastic and cynical smile, "Didn't expect to run into your favorite person? Aw, Lily-Love, I'm hurt."

She was about to fire back when she saw something that made her pause. James rolled his eyes and started pacing back and forth. "What? Can't think of anything to say to me? Come on, I know you have more insults in there!" He tapped the side of her head as he walked past her, pausing momentarily before he continued to pace. "I'll get you started. Selfish, toe-rag, dunderhead, arrogant, slob who has no respect for anyone and hates Slytherins and is evil on the inside and is the biggest prat you have ever known and wouldn't even care if he suddenly dropped dead! You almost wish it!" He was yelling at this point, his voice echoing throughout the empty corridor.

Lily stared at him in shock. His chest was heaving in anger. He ran his hands through his hair frantically, occasionally pulling at it. She stared at his hands, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"James," she said softly with a hint of concern. "You're shaking."

He froze and his hands left his hair and disappeared into his pockets. "So what, Evans? Surprised that I'm not completely cool and arrogant all the time? Surprised to find that I do bloody feel things at times?!"

"I always—"

"No, you don't!" He screamed at her. "You don't care at all," he sneered at her bitterly.

"What is going on?" She demanded. "It can't be that bad."

James rolled his eyes, "Oh, don't even try to understand what I've been going through."

Affronted, Lily responded, "Don't act like you're the only one with problems!"

"Oh, I forgot. Are you and your little 'Puff having a little disagreement?"

"We broke up."

"Aww," James cooed condescendingly. "Poor, perfect, single Lily. Where's Ben with his bloody violin?"

Now Lily was furious as well. How dare he mock her like that? "It's not like your life is hard."

"It's not like my life is hard? It's not like my MY LIFE IS HARD?" He shouted indignantly. "Not did I only die three _weeks_ ago, I almost died three _months_ ago and that's not fricken easy to deal with! Two of my friends who I love like siblings have half of the Death Eaters out to either kill them or recruit them. I'm about to go spend some quality time with Moony and the last time that happened, I ended up in an effin' coma! Oh, and let's not forget the cherry on the damn Sunday. I'm trying to figure out how to keep my friend alive after she prophecies her own death and she can't even bloody remember it! So, it's not like my life is hard at all! It's just a goddamn cake walk!"

"I'll admit," she screeched back, "that my life may not be that messed up, but it's not a walk in the park for me either! My sister loathes my existence, I seem to pick friends who love to almost die on a monthly basis, I broke up with the perfect guy because he wasn't good enough for me, OWLs are just around the corner and I am one more essay away from breaking down, and I think my best friend just got the Dark Mark! Then you have to go and confuse the hell out of me—"

She was abruptly cut off when she was violently yanked forwards into James's arms. To keep her balance, she pressed her hands against James's chest. Before she could say anything, James's lips were upon hers.

It was a searing kiss, unlike anything she had ever experienced when she was with Gabe. The kiss was passionate, unrestrained, and somewhat frantic. Her heart felt like it was about to explode right out of her chest when James deepened the kiss. She tried to think about how much she hated Potter but at that moment, her brain had gone completely blank.

His fingers dug almost painfully into her sides as he crushed her to him while her hands ran through his infuriating mess of raven locks. Lily faintly heard a voice that sounded like Sirius coming from James's pocket but quickly dismissed the thought. She tugged his hair to lower his head so she could easier access to his lips when James, just as sudden as the kiss had begun, let her go, shoving her back slightly.

"I've got to go," he murmured before turning and leaving without another word.

Lily stared at his rapidly retreating form and sagged against the wall. What the hell was that?

James took the stairs two at a time to get to the Gryffindor Tower entrance as quickly as possible. He crashed in there, not surprised to see everyone waiting for him. The rest of the Common Room was thankfully deserted that Friday night, seeing as everyone wanted to be bright eyed and bushy tailed for the Hogsmeade trip in the morning.

"Merlin, Prongs, what were you doing?"

"Nothing," James brushed the question off. "Who's going first?"

Ben was the one who answered, "We're all going except you and Ursula. Peter and Elyse will transform here and Sirius and I will carry them down. If you go up to our room, Sirius'll communicate with you through the mirrors so you can summon the cloak through the window. Join us as soon as you can."

James nodded, briefly looking at Ursula. The two of them kept watch while Elyse and Peter transformed in the darkened corner of the Common Room.

"Are you two alright?" They heard Ben ask.

They turned and saw Ben holding a rat in his hands while Sirius bent down to pick up the golden rabbit with red ears. Lucky nodded her head, nuzzling Sirius's hand as he absentmindedly ran his hand over her head. Ben reached up and placed Wormtail on his shoulder before grabbing the cloak off a nearby chair. "Ready?" He asked Sirius before throwing the cloak over the four of them.

"We'll see you soon," a voice said from nowhere.

Ursula and James simply nodded and they turned to walk up the stairs to the boys' dorm. Once there, Ursula sat down on Ben's bed while James went to his own. They were silent before James decided to break the silence.

"Are you scared?" He asked in a voice that Ursula rarely ever heard him use. He sounded like a small child needing reassurance from a parent.

Ursula nodded, "Terrified."

"Does Ben know?"

Ursula scoffed and shook her head, "No. We spoke last night and I told him I was fine and that I was ready for this."

"And are you?"

"I'm just about as ready for this as you are. James, the last time I was in that tunnel with Moony, I was bitten by a werewolf, almost killed, and lost my memory. I am so bloody scared right now Prongs." She admitted.

"It's completely illogical," James said, mostly speaking to himself. "We're stronger and more prepared this time. It's not just the two of us frantically trying to ward off a werewolf. We'll have King and Padfoot there. And Lucky and Wormy too to distract Moony. It should be fine. It's _going_ to be fine."

Ursula nodded, agreeing with him. Still, she was paler than usual. Their conversation was cut short when Sirius's voice came through the mirror in Ursula's pocket. "We're here. Get the cloak."

James went to the window and summoned his cloak, the piece of material soaring through the window. Ursula moved to his side and he threw the cloak over them, disappearing into the night.

They quickly and silently made their way through the castle and across the grounds. They bypassed a few professors and Hagrid but they went unnoticed by everyone. As they got closer to they felt their hearts beat faster, remembering the last time the two of them went towards the Whomping Willow. The fear and panic flashed through them, the emotions as potent as they had been all those months ago. Ursula blindly reached out and grabbed James's hand, both of them shaking slightly in fear. Holding onto each other's hands calmed their shaking and they silently used each other as a crutch to appear alright.

The tree was still frozen so they quickly made their way down the passage way. James was sure to bolt the door behind him, not risking sending Moony out on the grounds just yet. At the end of the passage way, Ben and a mangy, grim looking dog stood by his side.

"Remus hasn't made the change yet but he's close. We should probably be in there." Just as he said that, a cry came from inside the shack as Remus couldn't hold back crying in pain.

James nodded solemnly and clapped Ben on the shoulder as he walked past, "Watch out for her," he muttered softly before changing into a stag midstride once he was sure his antlers wouldn't get caught in the doorframe. Prongs and Padfoot made their way further into the shack to join Lucky and Peter, leaving Ben and Ursula alone.

"You'll be safe?" Ben questioned, more for his peace of mind than anything else.

She nodded and gave him a quick kiss, "With you, I'm the safest girl in the castle."

He smiled and kissed her again, never able to settle with just one of her kisses. "In that case, shall we?" He held the door open for her and motioned for her to go in. She offered him one last comforting look before she transformed into her animagus form, Ben following quickly after. A howl echoed from farther in and the sound of crashing and scraping of hooves and paws soon followed.

The full moon had finally risen.

* * *

The next morning, Peter opened his eyes to see that he had transformed back into a human. After a moment of panic, he saw that Remus had transformed back into his human form as well. He was off to the side, his clothes torn off him but he was covered partially by a fallen bit of drapes.

Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he tried to find the rest of their friends and see if they were okay. He felt fine but he remembered that he mostly stayed clear of all the action. Elyse had been swatted at and thrown a fair bit of distance. When he saw her sleeping (she was transformed back as well) he could see the nasty bruise forming on her right leg and arm.

A little farther away, Sirius was curled up still in his dog form. There were a few scratches on him but he seemed to be able to breathe properly.

"Pete?" A hushed voice called out in the room. Peter attention snapped towards James, who was laying on top of the piano (why was there a piano in there?) and also just waking up.

"I'm good. You?"

"Better than last time, that's for damn sure," James responded as he climbed off the piano, wincing when he put pressure on his left foot. It wasn't broken but it would probably have to be wrapped for a while, he determined. There were some scratch marks on his sides but they weren't near as bad as they had been last time.

"Is anyone else up?" Peter asked.

James shook his head. "I woke up a few minutes ago. Where're Ben and Ursula?"

The question was answered by the pair when a scraping sound caught their attention. Both of them were still in their animagus forms, Ursula snuggled up to Ben's side. She was moving her paws in her sleep, running after something. King, still asleep, moved slightly to rest his head against Muse's. She instantly calmed.

While Peter's insides boiled with jealousy, James smiled happily at the couple, not noticing Peter's adverse reaction. They were good for each other, James determined. Ursula barely had a scratch mark on her while Ben had more than his fair share. He may have had some major issues with Ben in the past year but Ben seemed determined to redeem himself in James's and Sirius's eyes. And so far, he was succeeding.

"Come on, Pete, let's wake them up." James felt bad interrupting everyone's needed sleep but they couldn't risk being caught by Pomfrey when she came to collect Remus in about an hour to take him to the hospital wing.

Once they were all conscious and transformed back to their human forms, they quickly and quietly made their way back to their dorms. The boys had it easy, all they had to do was go into their rooms; the girls had to sneak back in.

Dawn was just beginning to break when they finally got to their rooms. Ursula was too tired and sore to change so she simply fell into bed while Elyse decided to go shower all the grim off.

"Ursula," Lily said groggily, nearly giving the said girl a heart attack.

"What do you need Lily?" Ursula asked, faking a 'sleeping' voice.

"Where are you hurt?"

Ursula's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"

"I know you and your friends were with Remus last night. Do you need anything healed?"

Ursula was silent a moment and she saw up, looking up to see that Lily had large bags underneath her eyes; she hadn't slept the entire night. She somehow knew what they were doing (or, at least, had some idea of what was going on) and stayed up all night in worry. "No. Nothing that can't wait until morning."

"Alright. Be sure to tell the boys the offer goes for them."

Ursula raised an eyebrow, "All of them?"

There was a moment's hesitation before she said, "Especially them."

She didn't allow Ursula to respond or ask any more questions. Lily rolled over and tried to get a little bit of sleep, an infuriatingly wonderful hazel eyed boy haunting her dreams.


	16. Same Love

"_James?" Lily said, looking up from the book she was reading. Her back was resting against James's side as he looked over all sort of different parchment and newspapers spread across the coffee table, along with a couple maps resting on the floor near his feet. _

"_Hm?" He mumbled his focus still on his work. He pulled a quill out from behind his ear and circled something on one of the maps._

"_What do you think of the name Harry James?"_

_He stopped what he was doing to look at her oddly, "I would say it sounds like someone combined my Dad's name and mine. Why?"_

"_I was just thinking of names for the baby if it was a boy."_

_James considered that for a moment, picking up a piece of paper to look at it closely. "Eh, Elvendork has always been a personal favorite of m—" Then, as if being petrified, James froze. Slowly, his head turned towards Lily, his mouth forming the question he wasn't able to voice._

_Lily nodded as she sat up, placing a hand gently over her stomach, "Yes, I'm pregnant."_

"_Are you serious?"_

"_If I was Sirius I don't think this conversation would be possible," she teased lightly._

_James ignored her and quickly turned so he was facing her on the sofa. He placed his hands over hers, so gently like she was made of glass. "There's a baby in there?"_

_She nodded, "That's kind of what I'm pregnant means."_

_He simply sat there, staring at her stomach with a blank expression on his face. Lily began to panic. "I know we spoke about having kids later after the war was over and this isn't exactly the most opportune time. But I think we can do this, James. I mean, your mom would help us, not forgetting the Order and all our friends and extended families would be thrilled to help. Please don't be upset about this."_

"_Upset?" James asked, horrified that that was what she was thinking. "Lily, my child, our child is growing inside of you right now. We're going to have a son or daughter! This is brilliant!" He grabbed her and picked her up, causing her to squeal at the unexpectedness of it, before he started spinning her around the room. _

"_WE'RE HAVING A BABY!" He shouted happily kissing her once more. He seemed to realize how tightly he was holding onto her and he gently placed her on the sofa. A thought hit him, sending him running out of the room._

"_I've got to tell Sirius!"_

_Lily flopped dramatically on the couch, resting the back of her hand against her forehead, "Yes, James dear, I tell you I'm pregnant and the first thing you do is call Sirius. I shouldn't have expected anything less."_

_A crack upstairs signaled that someone had just apparated into the house. She turned her head and saw Sirius standing in her living room, still holding the two way mirror. He gave her a once over and said, "You're not fat yet."_

_Lily rolled her eyes, "Thanks, Paddy. You sure know how to make a woman feel beautiful."_

"_I aim to please. Now where's the bloke that impregnated you with his spawn."_

"_Tactful as always. He's upstairs probably having a panic attack by now. You should probably calm him down."_

"_Thanks, Lils," he walked out of the room towards the stairs. Lily sighed and rested her head back against the soft cushions. She had barely a moment's peace when she was startled by Sirius peaking his head around the corner saying, "Lily?"_

"_What do you need?" She asked sitting up._

_He walked over and pulled her to her feet gently and hugged her tightly, "Congratulations. James is one hell of a lucky man to have you."_

_Touched by Sirius's words (and possibly her pregnancy hormones already getting the best of her), she teared up and hugged him back just as tightly, "He's a lucky man to have you as a friend."_

"_I know." Sirius said cockily. He pulled back and smirked the crooked grin that had sent girl's heart fluttering back at Hogwarts. "That's why I call dibs on Godfather."_

_Lily laughed and shoved Sirius jokingly on the shoulder. "Get out of here, you dog."_

_His barking laugh probably woke up the neighbors. Still chuckling, he nodded and kissed Lily's cheek, "You witty woman. You take care of Prongs Jr. while I go deal with the senior."_

"_We don't know if it's a boy or girl yet."_

"_Fine. Elvendork is a good name. Unisex." He added for clarification._

_Lily put her hand on her hip and glowered at Sirius, "What is it with you and James with that name?!"_

_Sirius shrugged as he walked backwards towards the stairs, "It's a wonderful name Lily! It's a personal favorite of Prongs's."_

"_I married a child," Lily muttered to herself as Sirius disappeared up the stairs to congratulate his best friend on his impending fatherhood. She rested her hand on her stomach, and spoke to the baby, "Your dada's impossible but he's the most wonderful man I've ever met."_

"I HATE JAMES POTTER!" Lily screeched as she stormed into the room on a February afternoon. She viciously threw her bag at the wall. "I HATE HIM! I HATE HIM!"

"Lily," Elyse said as she quickly scrambled off the bed to go to her fuming friend's side. "Woot's happened?"

"Everything!" She seethed. "I decided to give him a chance and he is a bloody arse about everything! I thought he matured after the almost dying thing but he just turns into an even bigger twat! I honestly hate him and I will until the day I die! And don't you dare try to make some vague comment about my future!"

"I wasn't," Elyse said placating. "Just tell me woot he did."

Lily was still shaking with anger and took a few deep breaths before she was able to speak in a terrifyingly calm voice. "Sev and I were out for a walk since it wasn't snowing and the Black Lake looked beautiful. As we're walking, the ground opens up beneath Sev! He nearly suffocated because of Potter and Black! They were just standing there laughing!" Tears were forming in Lily's eyes as she remembered the horrific moment.

"Black?" Elyse questioned. She knew it didn't sound like something Ursula would do but since Ursula had a run in with her brother the other day, she was in a particularly anti-Slytherin mood.

"Sirius, of course. Ursula was off with Ben doing whatever couples do on Valentine's Day."

Elyse's eyes bugged out of her head, "It's Valentine's Day!?"

Lily gave Elyse an odd look, like she couldn't believe the seer had forgotten the day. "You haven't heard anyone talking about it for the last week?"

The look on Elyse's face was answer enough. Lily tutted, "You know, for a seer, you sure do miss a lot."

"Says you. I kin tell yeh everythin' aboot yeh's life right now if yeh wanted."

Lily shook her head, "Where's the fun in that?"

Elyse just shrugged, "I've never known different."

"That must be horrible." Lily said sadly.

"Nah, not really. It's payed off, savin' people 'n warnin' me aboot stuff."

Lily sat down on her bed and started to remove her shoes, "Well since the two of us are the only two not at Hogsmeade right now on some date, why don't you tell me some of your visions that have already come to pass."

Elyse thought about it a moment before her eyes lit up when she thought of the perfect vision, "Before Hogwarts, I had a vision aboot flyin on teh Hippogriffs. I don't think we ever told yeh boot here's woot happened…"

* * *

In the small village just outside of Hogwarts ground, in Hogsmeade hundreds upon hundreds of teenagers ran amuck. Two of those students braving the Valentine's Day storm were Ursula and Ben.

With school continuing to take up more time, detentions needing to be served, and Quidditch to be practiced, the pair had barely spent any alone time together in the last three weeks. Occasionally they were able to go on walks or have the Common Room to almost themselves but it was not enough.

"So what did Madame Pomfrey say?" Ben asked referencing her checkup earlier that day as they browsed through the sweets offered at Honeydukes. Ursula had been cleared about a month ago to play an half hour of practice but not any games.

Ursula smiled happily as she picked up a cherry lolly. "She said that I'm officially back. I'm not on probation anymore!"

Ben gave her a quick kiss before wrapping his arms around her shoulder, smiling happily at her news. "That's wonderful! It wasn't the same playing without you."

"It's good to be back, you know?"

He nodded, "I know." Ben thought back to everything he had done in the past year and he had to admit, he was almost glad that he had done what he had because otherwise he might not appreciate what he had now.

They paid for their purchases before walking out into the crowded street.

"Where to next?" Ben questioned.

"Definitely not there," she gestured towards the packed Madame Puddifoot's. Ursula shuddered when she saw the sickeningly pink and fluffy decorations.

Ben grimaced, "Thank Merlin. I would have done if you wanted but…"

"I would never torture you with that. That's just not our style."

"Our style?" Ben questioned, secretly pleased at the collective pronoun.

She nodded, "We're a bit more understated than that. Let's go to the Shrieking Shack. I want to see what damage we've done to that place already."

Ben nodded, curious as well. They had been in there twice already for the moon and each time they left, they had been exhausted to see what had been destroyed/ruined.

As they were walking down the isolated path surrounded by the trees, Ursula held tightly to his hand as they trudged through the freshly fallen snow. A sudden idea struck Ben and with a cleverly placed tug, he spun her around and pulled her to him. He lifted their hands slightly and placed his other hand on her waist.

"You know what I just realized? The last time we danced was over a year ago at the Ministry event."

"We don't have any music," Ursula pointed out as they started to sway back and forth to nothing.

Ben spun her out, Ursula laughing at his wonderful silliness. When she spun back, he pulled her so close she was flush against him. Ben only had to look down an inch or two to look into her eyes. "You happen to be in luck, Miss Black. I happen to be a fairly decent singer."

He rested his forehead to hers, gently humming. Ursula's eyes fluttered close as she let Ben and lead and rotate them in a circle. "_Only you can make this world seem right_…" he sang softly to her. "_Only you can make the darkness bright…Only you and you alone…Can thrill me like you do…And fill my heart with love for only you…_"

They stopped moving, simply standing in the winter wonderland in each other's arms. Ben unwrapped one of his arms around her waist so he could cup the side of her face. "Happy Valentine's Day," he said tenderly.

Her response was to simply lean up on her toes slightly, their lips meeting. She pulled away but kissed him again, not satiated after just a single kiss.

They were still kissing when they heard the crunch of snow, signaling that someone was coming. They opened their eyes and quickly hid behind a large tree, not wanting to be caught alone by her brother, Slytherins, a teacher who saw them sneak off, anyone really.

The figures came into view and Ursula sagged in relief. She instantly recognized her teammate Moira and her best friend Mary, "It's just Mary and Moira." She whispered to Ben.

"What are they doing out here?" Ben questioned quietly, finding it odd that they were out near the supposedly haunted Shrieking Shack.

"They probably want to get away from the craziness on the main streets," Ursula suspected.

As they watched in the shadows, Moira stumbled and Mary grabbed her arm, keeping her on her feet. That was not odd. What was odd was the fact that neither one let go, holding hands as they walked towards the fence surrounding the area around the haunted shack.

"What…?" Ben questioned, not sure if he was just jumping to conclusions or if what he thought was true.

"Shh!" Ursula shushed him, not wanting to attract any attention to themselves. They had originally hidden to avoid someone seeing them having an intimate moment, not trying to catch someone else. It would look bad if they were caught now.

A giggle from a little further away drew their attention back to the fourth years standing a little farther away. Moira was laughing at something Mary said, a hand covering her mouth as she tried to hold back her laughter. Mary reached forward and pulled Moira's hand away from her mouth. She gently caressed the hand and lifted it to her lips and kissed the palm. Moira moved her hand to gently rest her hand against Mary's cheek. She leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, Mary wrapping her arms around Moira's waist.

"I think we should leave," Ben suggested, feeling wrong intruding on such an intimate moment between his teammate and her girlfriend.

"I agree," Ursula murmured, disillusioning them both as they retraced their steps to get back to Hogsmeade without altering either girl to their presence.

Once back towards the main part of the village, Ursula lifted the charm and the pair got back on the street and walked back to Hogwarts.

"We shouldn't tell anyone about them," Ben said once they were sure they couldn't be overheard. "It's their relationship and we can't force them to come out."

Ursula nodded, slightly stunned by the discovery, "I agree completely. I just can't believe it. But at the same time it makes sense. They're always together, when we go to their room to visit they sometimes look like they were hiding something, and Mary'll go to the pitch to walk back with Moira after practice. I'm surprised I didn't see it earlier."

"They didn't want anyone to know. That's why you didn't see it. It's kind of like Alice and Marlene not knowing about us dating before."

"I guess that's true." Ursula conceded.

Ben wrapped his arm around her waist, "So what do you say to going to the kitchen to see what Mitzi can whip up for us? I've heard from Sirius she can make a wicked chocolate mousse cake."

Ursula nodded, her mouth starting to salivate at the thought of sweet, "It's to die for."

He kissed her temple and tightened his arm around her waist, "Let's not waste any time then.

* * *

The next day at Quidditch practice, Ursula was thrilled to be back on. She had spent the last four months not allowed to be able to go full strength with the team during the practices. Now that she was cleared, she was itching to get back into the swing of things.

During practice, she found that it was like riding a broom—you never forget. She was able to pick up essentially where she left off. James was thrilled that his team now had a fighting chance to not come in last (which is where they were currently placed) and might even make it into the finals. Ursula also noticed that Moira was now sporting a new necklace that had a M written in calligraphy, made out of simple metal, and not that large.

After practice, the three girls were changing back into their regular clothes. Elyse was chatting about the letter Pat sent her yesterday and the lovely bracelet he included as a Valentine's Day present.

Once she was done dressing, she looked at Ursula expectantly. The two of them would usually go meet with James and Ben and walk up to the castle together.

"Actually," Ursula responded to the questioning look, "I want to go over a couple of chaser things with Moira. Just tell James I'll talk to him about it later."

Elyse shrugged, "Alright. See yeh back in teh dorms." With that, she grabbed her bag and left the changing room.

Moira turned to Ursula, pulling on her jumper over her camisole. "So which play do you want to talk about? I know I messed up the arrow formation but I think I know what I did wrong with that pass."

Ursula shook her head, "That's not what I wanted to talk about. Sit down," Ursula said gesturing towards the bench. Moira swallowed nervously, wondering what she could have possibly done that the cocaptain wanted to have a private conversation with her.

"Moira," Ursula said comfortingly as she placed a hand over Moira's, "I want to talk to you as a friend to friend, not just as teammates, savy?" Moira nodded, still nervous.

Ursula picked up on the nerves and smiled reassuringly, "Trust me, you didn't do anything wrong. This actually has nothing to do with the team. It's just something that I think you should know."

Moira visibly relaxed, feeling much more calm now that she knew she wasn't in trouble for something.

"Yesterday during the Hogsmeade trip, Ben and I took a trip down near the Shrieking Shack. We were there for a while when you and Mary showed up. We hid behind a tree not wanting to be caught having our own moment when we saw you and Mary together."

Moira had grown alarmingly pale since Ursula mentioned the Hogsmeade trip. Her hands began to shake and her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, please don't hate us!" She cried.

Ursula jerked back in shock, "Hate you? Moira, why would you possibly think that?!"

"I have a girlfriend!" Moira shouted, admitting what had been bottled up in her chest for a while. "People would hate me and Mary if they found out! They think we deserve to die just because we like other girls! But I can't help that I feel in love with my best friend!"

Ursula wrapped her arms around Moira in a sideways hug, "Moira, I'm not telling you because I condemn you being in a relationship with Mary! I don't want you dead! I think it's wonderful that you two are together and happy! Alright? I just wanted to let you know that Ben and I know about it; that's all."

Moira sniffled and looked at Ursula in disbelief. "You aren't going to tell anyone?"

Ursula shook her head, "It's your personal life. You have the right to have as many or as few people as you want know about your relationship. Though I would suggest telling your family."

She shook her head adamantly, "I'll let them down. They always talk about how they want me to find some nice young man to fall in love with and have two kids with. I can't shatter their dreams. Besides, they wouldn't understand."

"I don't think all of them would." Ursula said. "Professor McGonagall would support you and be happy for you. I may not be in your family but your aunt has helped me on so many occasions with issues in my own family. And never once, has she judged me. Remember that time you were hit with the bludger? I used dark magic on the Slytherin that did it and Minnie didn't even punish me for that. She was just glad that you were going to okay."

Moira was silent as she considered Ursula's advice. "Do you really think I should come out to my aunt?"

Ursula nodded and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "If she truly loves you, and she does, then she will be proud that you had the courage to tell her something like this. She'll probably ask you why you're wasting your time telling her that when you could be working on your transfiguration."

Moira chuckled, knowing that Ursula was right about her aunt. She then noticed that Ursula had her hand on her shoulder and she shook her head in unbelievingly.

"What is it?" Ursula questioned.

"I thought that if I came out to anyone, especially the girls I knew, they would be all freaked out by me and thinking that I was in love with them or something and too scared to get within a ten foot radius of me."

Ursula shook her head, "Nah, you're my friend and so is Mary. I don't care if you're into men, women, or centaurs. Besides, we're both spoken for." Ursula smiled brightly at a brilliant thought. "Ben mentioned something along these lines but we should all go on a double date sometime."

Moira laughed outright at that, unable to believe that someone was so accepting of this. She would have at least expected some level of disapproval but so far, Ursula was completely fine with everything.

"How is it that you're accepting this? You come from one of the most conservative families around."

Ursula shrugged, "I've never followed any of my family's ideals. I'm in Gryffindor, I'm friends with muggleborns, halfbloods, and blood traitors, I'm dating one of the son of two of the worst bloodtraitors."

"March to the beat of your own drum, don't cha?" Moira commented as she got up to gather her things up. Ursula chuckled as she did the same.

"I guess you can say that," Ursula agreed. "Ready to go?"

Moira nodded and the pair walked up to the castle. They just reached the stairs that would lead them to the portrait of the Fat Lady but Moira stopped just at the foot of the stairs.

"Coming up?" Ursula questioned.

Moira paused a moment before shaking her head, "No, no. I think I'm going to go talk to Aunt Minerva. I have some things I need to tell her."

Ursula smiled proudly at her friend. She clapped her on the shoulder twice, "Good for you. If you need anything later, or any time really, feel free to pop into the my dorm. I'll be there, got it?"

"Got it." Moira nodded, her insides warming with happiness now that she knew she had a friend that accepted her completely and didn't judge. Well, possibly two people since apparently Ben knew and shared the same opinion as Ursula.

"Good. Now, I've got to go give a lecture to a Miss MacDonald about the consequences if she ever breaks your heart." With that, Ursula turned on her heels and started up the stairs, leaving an amused Moira at the bottom.

Moira was about to walk away to her aunt's office but she turned back and shouted up the staircase, "Ursual?!"

Ursula paused about halfway up and turned around, "Yeah?"

"Thanks." Moira said simply, not able to think of a proper way to truly thank the girl she had confided to.

Ursula nodded once with a smile on her face before turning back around and walking up the stairs back to the warmth of the common room. Moira turned walked towards the transfiguration hallway. She passed a few students on the way, offering them brief smiles, trying to keep her beating heart under control. She had honestly never felt this nervous.

She got to her aunt's office and after a moment's hesitation she raised her fist and rapped on the wooden door twice.

"Come in." McGonagall's brisk voice called from within.

Moira pushed open the door. McGonagall looked up from her desk and her eyebrows went up in surprise. "Moira, dear, what an unexpected surprise."

"Hi, Aunt Minerva." Moira said nervously as she shuffled into the office. Her mouth felt so dry, her tongue like sandpaper. Her hands were clammy and she was sure her entire body was shaking.

"What is it child?" McGonagall questioned, concern plain as day on her face. She stood from her seat and walked around her desk. She put her hands on Moira's shoulders and guided her to a seat. She reached back to the corner of her desk and grabbed a tin of biscuits, offering Moira one.

Moira took but didn't eat it. She took a few deep breaths to try to calm herself down. She thought of Ursula's advice earlier; Aunt Minerva would love her no matter what. She could do this. She wasn't placed in Gryffindor for nothing. She gathered all her courage and her bravery and did the most difficult thing she could ever imagine doing.

"Aunt Minerva," she began, "we need to talk…"

* * *

_This is going to be a fairly long author's note so please bear with me. Really quick, the lyrics Ben sang were from Only You by The Platters. Now onto the heavier/more serious stuff._

_I do not want anyone to leave any sort of offensive comment about the subject of homosexuality. It will either be deleted or reported. This chapter is something that I have had planned for a fairly long time and I know that it can be a controversial issue. Since this is the HP fandom, I'm assuming that there won't be any problems (considering people ship Draco with an apple) with two female characters in a relationship. The only reason why I say I will not tolerate any hateful comments/messages/anything else someone can do is because a) I fully support gay marriage even though I personally am straight. I believe marriage is a union between two people who love each other and pledge to be true to each other until they die. I don't care who you are- you have the right to love who you want to. b) this is not some huge politcal statement I am trying to make. My personal belief is what it is and it reflects in my writing. c) if you do have a problem with it, don't worry. They obviously aren't one of the main couples, though this does play a role in something else that happens later in the series.  
_

_On a completely different note, there are two things I want to announce/ask suggestions for._

_The first thing is one shots. I haven't written one in forever and I feel like I am majorly overdue for one. If you have any suggestions, feel free to make them and I will either try to make it work or take the best idea(s)._

_Also, I have a major development in my writing._

_I am officially saying that I will be writing a Doctor Who story. I am not going to be publishing it for a long while since I want to write out most of it first._

_Because of this, I would like to propose a challenge of sorts. If you can make it to 100 reviews by the end of this story (there will be about three or four more chapters), I will give include a small scene, a spoiler if you will, from one of the already written chapters from my Who story._

_Well, that's all I have to say. I can't think of anything else. Thank you to everyone who has read/reviewed/favorited/alerted. You are wonderfully awesome._

_Until next time._


	17. Among the Forgotten

_Okay, just so you guys know, this chapter being late is not actually my fault! How is that possible, you may ask? I had surgery last week so I've spent the last few days recovering. I'm fine and it's all good. I just had to get three of my wisdom teeth pulled so I've been in a bit of pain the last little while._

_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed the last chapter. I was stunned when I saw the number after I was better enough to get on a computer. You are all simply fantastic!_

_So while the last chapter was kind of a "mushy" lovey-dovey chapter, this one kind of is- kind of isn't. The reason for the last chapter was because I've had people almost dying, actually dying, sort of dying, stressed, and fighting that I decided that they deserved Valentine's day. This chapter is on the same track but very different train compared to the last one. Please enjoy._

* * *

As the days of February melted away to March, the castle remained much the same. The snow was gone and instead of blasts of freezing temperatures in the corridors, the weather was much more moderate. The cool breeze was gorgeous compared to the harsh winter, making it hard for the students to focus on their work.

With OWLs and NEWTs rapidly approaching, the library was unofficially reserved for the fifth and seventh years. Day in and day out, there were hundreds of students already frantically studying for the tests that would ultimately influence the rest of their years at Hogwarts.

One Sunday evening, Ben and Remus were helping Peter with Defense while Elyse, Lily, and Alice were going over advanced Charms. Marlene was off to the side, repeating the same spell to transform the box into a rabbit.

"I need to take a break," Lily said as she pushed her book away. "Fifteen minute break everyone?"

Peter sighed in relief. Remus and Ben had been taking turns explaining to him the different types of dark creatures they covered third year and he still wasn't able to remember more than eight of them and all their characteristics.

"Sounds heavenly," Marlene said as she joined the rest back at their table.

"Where's the rest of your rag tag gang?" Alice asked, noticing the three missing Gryffindors.

Remus shrugged as he pulled out a book to read, "They're probably causing trouble somewhere. Best leave them to their own devices sometimes."

Lily shook her head condescendingly, "They should care more about their studies."

"They don't really need to," Ben commented. "As much as we all hate it, James and Sirius don't need to study at all. Ursula reviews every once in a while but none of them are at risk of failing any of their OWLs."

"Ursula wants to be an Auror, right?" Alice asked.

Ben nodded. "We both want to be." He confirmed.

"The Auror program is one of the most difficult to get into," Marlene pointed out. "Hell, I won't even consider it."

"Woot d'yeh want ter do, Marls?" Elyse asked.

Marlene shrugged, "I've considered becoming a healer but I know that I probably won't get accepted. So I've been thinking of running my own Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley shop one day."

"You are usually organized," Lily commented, eyeing Marlene's pile of stuff next to her. It looked like she had turned her bag upside down and kicked it around everywhere.

"Oi! You're no better," Marlene retorted. "Miss I-lost-the-charms book- I'm currently-holding."

Alice snorted and Lily looked at her in fake astonishment. "Et tu Alice?"

Alice nodded, giggling more at the look on Lily's face, "I'm sorry you were hilarious earlier."

"I'm always hilarious," Ursula said as she came around the corner, sitting down on the edge of the table.

They rolled their eyes at her entrance. Peter, however, simply stared at her in awe. Her hair was down from its usual braid so it cascaded down her back in thick black curls. He loved her hair; it was beautiful. He dreamed about running his hands through her dark locks as she curled into his side as they sat in front of the fireplace back in the common room. Her hand would reach up and gently stop his, only to bring it to her lips and caress the top with a soft kiss. He would wrap his arms around her tighter and give her all the love and devotion she deserved.

His thoughts came crashing back to Earth when Ben grabbed Ursula around the waist and pulled her off the top of the table onto his lap, kissing her temple in greeting. Peter's thoughts turned darker, wishing that at that moment, Lord Voldemort himself would show up and avada kedavra Ben on the stop. When Ursula yelped in disapproval and glared at Ben, Peter thought for a second that all his wishes would come true and she would get off Ben's lap, leave Ben in the dust, forget about Ben completely, and come to see that Peter was the one that would never hurt her…the one who would worship her…honor her.

Instead she simply sat down in the chair next to him, all the while holding tightly onto his hand. "Arse." She jokingly glared at him.

Ben smiled cheekily, "Only for you."

Peter nearly gagged the horrible wrongness of it. He didn't deserve her! He only hurt her! Peter would never, ever do that to her.

"I hate to break up your little study group but there's Quidditch practice in twenty minutes."

Ben and Elyse nodded, packing up their stuff. Peter's jealousy nearly bubbled over when Ursula began to help Ben put his books away. Their hands brushed against each other's and they shared a private look. She shouldn't have to clean up his mess, Peter mentally ranted. She deserved to be waited on, not waiting on someone else.

"Hey, Wormy, you alright?" Ursula asked when she saw his face scrunch up.

Peter nearly jumped a foot, dropping the Defense book that had been resting on his lap. "Y-y-yeah. I'm fine?"

Ursula bent over and picked up the book. She placed her free hand on Peter's forehead and he nearly died and went to heaven at that moment. "Are you sure? You look a bit peaky and you're warm."

He flushed at her concern. Her cool hand felt heavenly on his face. He imagined it moving down to cup his cheek, intimately touching his face. He nodded and took the book from her other hand. "I'm s-s-s-sure." He stuttered out.

That didn't seem to appease Ursula at all. Instead, her brow furrowed so perfectly it looked like it belonged on a statue in a museum. "I don't believe you. When was the last time you ate anything?"

Peter shrugged, unable to think properly under her intense gaze. She looked away from him just a moment to look at the rest of the group. Remus shrugged, "We took a lunch break about six hours ago. Ben brought us some snacks about two hours ago. I don't know it Peter had any."

Ursula directed her questioning look back at Peter. He shirked slightly and mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"I d-d-didn't eat any-anything." He admitted in a slightly louder voice.

Ursula sighed and tutted, "Wormy, Wormy, Wormy, what are we going to do with you? Why didn't you eat anything?"

He wasn't about to tell her that he didn't eat anything because they were from her boyfriend, the bloke that took her away from him. Before he could think of a horribly formulate lie, Ursula turned abruptly and hit Ben on the shoulder.

"Oi! What was that for?" He asked, rubbing his shoulder.

Ursula pointed her finger at him, like she was scolding a small child, "That's for not making sure he ate!"

Ben rolled his eyes, "He's a big boy, Urs."

"I don't care!" She immediately responded. "He's probably stressed out enough with the OWLs. Eating isn't the first thing on a lot of people's minds right now. You should have made sure everyone ate."

Ben clearly thought she was over reacting but nodded none the less. He grabbed her hand and pulled Ursula away from Peter to give her a quick hug. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll make sure Peter eats when he's supposed to. Maybe I'll start carrying blocks of cheese in my bag. How does that sound?"

Ursula laughed and once again hit him on the arm, "You little prick," she said smiling.

He smirked and wrapped his arms around her, "But what a devilishly handsome prick I am?"

"The deviliest."

Ben laughed, "I'm pretty sure that's not a word."

"It so is."

"I don't believe you."

"I can't believe you!"

"I can't believe either one of them," Marlene muttered. She made a gagging motion while Ursula and Ben started to flirt back and forth in a mess of insults and cleverly worded words of affection. Peter's annoyance and hatred doubled for Ben at every moment. He just had to come in and ruin a perfectly perfect moment between him and Ursula. Ben was a menace that needed to be controlled…to be taken care of…

Thankfully, Elyse took matters into her own hands and grabbed the back of both of their robes, pulling them away from each other. "In case yeh've forgotten, we've got practice ter git ter."

Ursula squirmed her way out of Elyse's hold. "Tell Prong's I'll be late for practice. I want to make sure Peter gets some food before he passes out." His face had been growing alarmingly pale the last few minutes. Ursula rested her hand gently on Peter's shoulders, sending his heart into a fluttering frenzy. "Ready to go Peter?" She asked, looking at him worriedly with those kind, soft, gentle, loving eyes that enraptured all who looked into them.

"Pete?" She asked again this time with much more alarm and concern.

He shook himself out of his reverie and nodded, "Yeah."

As he stood up, Ursula kept a hand on his arm to keep his steady. Stealing a glance at Ben, Peter couldn't help but feel a flash of annoyance; he didn't even look bothered Ursula wouching him! Perhaps he didn't view Peter as a threat. Or maybe Ben knew that Peter was better for her?

It didn't matter, seeing as with a final wave, Ben was off walking to the pitch with Elyse. Angered by Ben's nonchalant farewell to Ursula, Peter pursed his lips together. Did he not realize what angel he possessed?

"That's our cue too. Might as well start rounds now," Lily said as she packed up her stuff. She excused them from Alice and Marlene, who both went back to their books, reviewing their herbology notes from two years ago.

"Yippie," Remus said dryly. "Rounds – my favorite thing besides the moon," he muttered the last part to himself so Marlene and Alice didn't hear as he finished packing up his stuff.

"Remus!" Ursula mock chided as they started to walk out of the library. "Are you complaining about the honor Dumbledore has blessed you?"

"Blessed? More like cursed," he retorted.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked. "Being a Prefect isn't a curse."

"It is when the only reason you got the badge was the headmaster's attempt to make you your friends' official babysitters and all your friends see is a get out of jail free card," he gave Peter and Ursula an accusatory look.

Ursula held her hands up in surrender while Peter ducked his head.

"I've only used you once!"

"Ursula!" Lily scolded.

"At least I'm not as bad as my brothers," Ursula tried to defend herself.

Lily sighed in acceptance, knowing that was the truth; no one was as bad as James Potter and Sirius Black, especially when it came to trouble. "Just be careful this time." Lily warned.

Ursula and Peter broke away from the pair and started walking towards the kitchens. "Sounds good!" Ursula shouted back. "See you later, sat 11:00ish? Ben and I might fancy a late night stroll around the castle."

"See what I have to deal with?" They heard Remus lament to Lily.

"Love you too Moony!" Ursula shouted jovially, cupping her hands around her mouth.

Remus simply held up a thumbs up over his head, not even bothering to turn around. Ursula laughed loudly, her beautifully familiar bark like laugh. It brought smiles to all who heard it, Peter especially.

Once they turned away, they walked in silence. Away from the rest of the crowd, Peter studied Ursula's face. The joy that usually danced behind her eyes seemed dimmed and her entire figure was tense. There was one possibility for her behavior…

"Ursula?" Peter asked hesitantly, not wanting to seem clingy or prying.

"What do you need Wormy?" She asked, turning to look at him briefly before looking in front of her.

He cleared his throat, "Is Ben treating you right?"

Ursula actually stopped walking and looked at Peter in astonishment, "Of course he is, why do you ask?"

He shuffled his feet, feeling extremely uncomfortable in the situation he put himself in. "There's something wrong with you and the only time I've seen you look like this when Ben hurt you last year."

She smiled slightly and shook her head before beginning to walk forward again, "No, no, that's not it at all Peter. Ben everything I asked for and more. He's been the perfect gentleman, you don't need to worry about that Wormtail."

Peter nodded, his displeasure growing when he saw the soft look in Ursula's eyes grow as she thought of her boyfriend. She suddenly smirked slightly and chuckled at something. "You know what's funny Peter? You can ask Sirius or any of the girls. I used to tell everyone that I would never date a pureblood because I wanted to marry a muggle, muggleborn, or maybe a halfblood just to infuriate my parents."

A painful tightening burst through Peter's chest as he remembered his own predominately pureblood heritage; his mother was a halfblood and his father pure. So he wasn't technically pureblood. More like three-fourths blood? Even thinking it sounded dumb so he didn't say anything.

"So why are you dating Ben? His family is just as old as yours." He questioned, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

She contemplated that a moment, "I can't tell you Peter. You can't help who you fall in love with."

"Love?" Peter asked horrified. No. This couldn't be. She couldn't love him!

Ursula shook her head, "No, not love. But something pretty damn close. Enough about my life, what about you? Did you ever talk to that girl you fancied?"

With his world crashing around him, Peter tried to smile only to fail pitifully. "I did. She doesn't care for me."

"Aww, Pete." Ursula said as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder in a side hug. "It's her loss. You're one hell of a guy."

"Really?" Peter asked hopefully. Maybe there was still a chance!

Ursula nodded, "Of course I mean it. You're a wonderful friend and a great person." She stopped in front of the portrait of the bowl of fruit and tickled the pear, the door to the kitchens swung open. Ursula stepped in and grabbed Peter's arm and guided him to a table near the roaring fire.

"Mitzi!"

The house elf seemed to apparate to Ursula's side. Peter yelped in shock and nearly fell off the chair.

"Mistress Ursula called Mitzi?"

"Mitzi…" Ursula said sternly.

Mitzi flushed red and shuffled her feet, embarrassed. "Sorry, Ursula. Mitzi doesn't mean offense."

Ursula placed her hand on the crown of Mitzi's brown mess of hair, rubbing it much like a mother would do to her daughter's. "I know Mitzi. I was wondering if you could do a favor for me."

Mitzi's eyes lit up and nodded excitedly, "Of course Mitzi can! Mitzi would be honored!"

"Make sure Peter here gets a full meal of whatever was for dinner plus desert. Don't let him out of here until he finishes everything, alright?"

"I'll make sure Master Peter gets the best food we have, Mitzi will see to it! Trust Mitzi!" With that, she scattered off into a part of the kitchen none of them had ever been into.

"I trust you'll be fine now. I have to get to practice. Ben probably thinks I got kidnapped by Slytherins by now." With that, she turned and left, leaving Peter to his dark thoughts regarding his 'friend'.

Later that night after eating his weight in food, when he was soundly sleeping, Peter was violently thrown off his bed. "Look alive, Wormy!" James shouted.

"Wha—!" Peter shouted as he tried to disentangle himself from his blankets. "Wha's goin on?" He sleepily slurred.

"We wormed – no pun intended – the password for the Slytherin Common Room out of Remus. He's got late night rounds and King and Muse decided to be all coupley and go on a walk together. We can't get Lucky because of those bloody stairs so you're our last hope."

"What do you need me for?"

James and Sirius exchanged sinister glances at each other before James grabbed the map from his pocket and slammed it on top of the table. "We have a mission to find a…let's call it missing…potions book. One that Snivelly has been using as a diary."

"I'm in," Peter immediately responded.

Sirius smirked and thumped James on the shoulder, "Told you he would."

James reciprocated the smirk before leaning in close to Peter and whispered conspiratorially, "Here's your mission…"

* * *

The next morning was much more somber. For some reason, the entire Great Hall seemed hushed. Peter rubbed the sleep from his eyes as she plopped down in his usual spot. "Why's everyone acting like someone died?"

"Someone did, you idiot," Sirius snarled.

Instantly, Peter's attention was on the entire group. No one had tears in their eyes but they were all very tense. "Who?"

"Fifty-six people in the last week, almost two hundred in the last two." Remus explained as he passed Peter a copy of the Daily Prophet. "This is the first time certain details have been released in regards to the murders."

"What details?"

James rolled his eyes, annoyed at Peter's incessant questions. "They're using the bodies after funerals to go kill other family members. No one's ever used Inferi on this scale before. It's scaring the crap out of everyone."

"O' course it is," Elyse said. "Imagine seein' yer loved one's corpse killin' yeh o yeh's other family. It's horrible."

"The worst part is that he is making the corpses look alive – they don't look dead." James said, flicking a picture in the Prophet making Peter look at the image of what looked like perfectly humans humans.

"So far in the last month, twenty-five people have been killed by family members who had mistaken them as inferi in disguise." Ben said. "Dad doesn't know what to do. You warn people against inferi and they attack family. Warn people that they might not actually be dead and people put their guard down. No matter what, people are still going to die."

"They're calling him He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Slightly better than Dark Lord but still a rubbish title if you ask me." Sirius said.

"Merlin, those are worse than Lord Voldemort," Ursula scrunched up her nose in disgust. Both names were horrible names in her opinion.

Their critique of his names ended when the rest of the morning post was delivered. A letter landed in front of James and he quickly read it, his face turning more and more solemn as he read more of the letter. He sighed and handed it off to Sirius, who in turn had a similar reaction before giving it to his sister. Her face remained impassive as she read it, though her hand moved to tightly squeeze Ben's. He wrapped his free arm around her shoulder. She rested her head against his shoulder and he whispered something into her ear. She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears and kissed his cheek before she stood, quickly grabbing her stuff and leaving.

"What's going on?" Peter asked the remaining three as they shared a knowing look. He felt like an outsider.

Elyse was the one to answer, "Mr. Potter's gotten sick again. They don't think he's gonna make it much longer."

"He's been sick for a while but when he went to the healers to get some help, it's just too much on his body. They think he has about two years left, three tops, four would be a miracle." Remus continued to explain.

"Can't they just…banish the illness from him?" Peter asked, his heart filling with sorrow for his beloved. The pain she must be in…

Ben shook his head, "Mrs. Potter is possibly one of the best healers alive and she's done everything she can do. She's called in every favor, any debt anyone owed her ever. None of it is working. Magic can only work so well for so long. His body's just…stopping."

"They're trying to buy him time," Remus added. "James is especially adamant that there is a cure out there. I don't think he ever realized that his father would die so soon."

"There isn't a boy out there who does think his father's a super hero," Ben said. "They're invincible in our eyes. The realization that they aren't…"

"It's rough," Elyse finished Ben's thought.

"It is. And for Sirius and Ursula, it's almost worst because for the first time in their lives, they actually have a father who they love and loves them in return. Now he's dying."

Ben stood up, "We should probably fine them. It's not a good idea to leave those three to their own devices."

They had barely taken ten steps before they heard a loud cheer and laughter. Ben gave the other three a look that clearly said 'see? What did I tell you?'

Turning the corner, they found James pointing his wand at a third year who was currently dangling from his foot, desperately trying to keep his robes from falling.

"James!" Elyse yelled in shock, horror, and a slight sense of awe.

James turned and smirked at the four, "'Ello Lucky. Welcome to the show."

"What are you doing!?" Remus shouted as he tried the universal counter spell on James's victim, only to find that it didn't work.

James shrugged, "He was walking a bit too slowly for my taste so I gave him a little…lift shall we say?"

"James!" Remus yelled, properly angry at this point. Dying father or not, the boy's face was turning an alarming shade of red.

"Fine." James rolled his eyes and with a twist of his wand and an utterance of Libericorpus, the boy flew painfully on top of Remus, who was standing right below him. The crowd howled with laughter while a few rushed forward to the two fallen boys up.

"Detention," Remus growled at James who was basking in the attention he was receiving. James jumped and stared at Remus, his eyes wide.

"What!" He yelped.

Remus glared at him and sneered, "You heard me. I'm a Prefect and I have the right to give detention to those in my House. Considering I've happened to live in the same room as you for the past five years, I thought you'd've figured it out by now!" Remus snapped, shoving past James and practically stormed to their first class.

"Good jobs, Prongs, you've managed to piss off the beast." Sirius said as he slung his arm around a still stunned James's shoulders.

"The same goes for you too Sirius!" Remus shouted back.

Now it was Sirius's turn to shout out in shock, "What! I didn't do anything!"

Remus turned around and looked at the two of them. He pointed a finger at himself, "You expect _me_ to think that _you_," he now pointed at Sirius, "had nothing to do with _his_ prank?" He finished by pointing at James.

Sirius looked at James, both of them realizing the truth in Remus's statement. "Eh, it was worth a try."

Ben chuckled and cuffed Sirius on the back of his head. His other hand was holding onto Ursula's, both of them had smiles on their face. "You're an idiot, Padfoot."

"Takes one to know one," Sirius shot back.

"Well, my idiots, we have to get to class. I don't think that Minnie will take too kindly to us showing up late again." Ursula said as she jumped ahead of them, the other's following.

All seven of them (Remus waited for them at the end of the corridor) walked together towards the transfiguration classroom. Seeing him standing alone, Elyse felt a quick flash of...well of something.

It was like there was a thin transparency over her eyes. She could see Remus in front of her but there was also an older Remus standing in front of him. He was taller, much more than he already was. His face was full of scars, old and new. His clothes were tattered and tears were streaming down his face as someone she didn't recognize place a hand on his shoulder.

"No," the future Remus said, his voice echoing hauntingly like a ghost's.

"I'm sorry," the other voice responded just as faintly. "They were found a few hours ago."

"No!" Remus wailed, falling to his knees, sobbing heartrendingly into his hands. His shoulders shook violently and it seemed that he had no control over his body.

"Sir!" The other wizard panicked as he tried to console the tortured soul falling apart in front of him. "Sir, you need to calm down!"

"Calm down?!" Remus roared. "HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO!? EVERYONE I'VE LOST! I'M THE LAST! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THEM!?"

And just as quickly as the apparitions appeared, they were gone. The six others were ahead of Elyse now, all of them walking around Remus. James and Sirius were making a bunch of innocent little jokes to try to get back on Remus's good side, not knowing that they could never truly be on his bad side.

Elyse jogged to catch up with them, still stunned. What had just happened.

She didn't know. It was something else she could add to her "didn't know list' that was growing longer and longer with every day. Why did nothing make sense anymore? None of it seemed to matter much when she realized something. Someone had been forgotten; someone or many someones near and dear to Remus. Who?


	18. Joke's on You

"Remus, do you have my Arithmancy notes?" Ben asked as he looked under all the books he had spread out around his bed.

"Here," Remus tossed them over, not even looking up from the corresponding book. His nose was practically buried in it. Every time he turned a page, Ben was honestly surprised he didn't get a paper cut on his cheek. "Do you have my set of additional information Newling gave us?" He began to search for the additional notes their professor gave them.

"You gave that to Lily earlier this week. She probably still has it."

"Bugger, I those had the tricks for memorization in it. Do you think James has his copy?"

Ben gave Remus a look of pure disbelief. "You want to know it James has a copy of his notes. Notes he doesn't take. For a class he rarely pays attention to. And you want to ask him the day before April Fool's Day?"

Remus conceded to Ben's point quite quickly. "I see your point."

"I'm right here, you know," James complained from across the room, lounging on his bed. He was flipping through his Quidditch playbook while also simultaneously brainstorming pranks for the next day. Sirius was sitting across from James on the bed, adding his input.

Ursula piped up from Sirius's bed where she and Elyse were going over their Divination notes. "Prongs, are they wrong?"

"No, but it's the principle." He tried to argue.

Peter, fed up with all the noise, snapped and threw his book loudly to the ground, "Will everyone shut up!"

They all jumped and stared at Peter like they had never seen him before. "Merlin, Pete, are you okay?" Ursula questioned.

"No," he snapped. "I'm about to fail all my OWLs while the rest of you are going to pass with Outstandings and I'll just be the idiot you take pity on and allow to be near you! My life depends on these tests!" He shouted, at his wits end. The stress had been slowly building over the last three weeks and he felt like he was ready to blow up.

"Wormy, we're not friends with each other based off intelligence. We're friends because we like spending time with you," Remus tried to calm the agitated boy.

Sirius snorted, "Speak for yourself, mate." At the glares he received, he held his hands up in surrender before going back to flipping through some random notes.

"Ignore Sirius. He's just a wanker." Ben said as he smirked. Ursula laughed causing Ben's smile to grow wider and happier.

"Arse."

"Prat."

"Git," the two boys shot insults back and forth at each other for the next fifteen minutes, occasionally a projectile flew through the air, often times hitting its intended target.

Finally, Ursula had enough and said, "Alright children, time to stop."

"Yeah, please," Elyse said, rubbing her forehead, her face scrunched up in pain.

Immediately, Ursula was concerned and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, "Elyse, what's wrong?"

Elyse just waved her off, "Just a headache. It feel like teh drums in teh orchestra beatin' away."

"Do you want to go to the hospital wing?" James asked, instantly worried not simply because she's his only seeker, but his dear friend as well.

She shook her head, instantly regretting it when it just caused the pounding in her head to increase. "Nah, I think I'll just go back ter me dorm."

James nodded, "You should probably get some sleep. It'll help with the headache."

Remus perked up, "If Lily's in there, can you ask her to bring over my notes?"

"Sure thing." Elyse got up, stumbling slightly, and quickly put her stuff into her bag. She bid her farewells and went to leave but instead walked into a bed post. Ursula shot up and gripped her arm to keep her balanced.

"I think I should go with you. You're not usually this clumsy," Ursula commented.

"I didn't get a lot o' sleep last night. I'm just tired." Elyse tried to rationalize her out of character behavior.

They boys accepted this and after looking at the clock to see that it was past seven on a Friday, they weren't surprised that the sleep deprivation they were all currently suffering from affected the smallest of the group most.

"Sweet dreams, Lucky," Sirius said absentmindedly as he started doodling a picture of Snape being eaten by a snake.

Soon after Ursula and Elyse left, the boys broke up. Sirius and James left with the cloak, claiming that they had some "Marauder Business" to take care of before morning. Peter, just as exhausted as Elyse, decided to call it an early night. Remus, the Gryffindor Prefect, had rounds to do. Lily had already warned him earlier that day that she wouldn't be able to make rounds since she was up to her ears in potions essays and transfiguration theory and studying for OWLs. She felt bad but after getting dizzy earlier that day, Madame Pomfrey ordered her to miss rounds that night. Ben, not tired and bored, decided to tag along with Remus.

They walked in silence for the first couple corridors, not needing to fill the air with words. Then finally, Remus decided to break the silence and ask, "Who were the letters from this morning from?" Ben had received three letters, all of which he immediately stuffed in his bag, claiming they were going to be late for class.

Ben sighed, "Gideon was just checking up on me. Anna's birthday would be tomorrow and he just wanted to check up with me."

"How old would she be?" Remus asked gently, not wanting to accidentally say something wrong. This was a delicate topic and Ben hadn't been known for being all that stable when dealing with it until recently.

"Twenty-two. She was only twenty-one when she died. In five years I'll be older than my sister," Ben said chuckling humorlessly.

Remus shook his head, unable to imagine that. Annabelle was always so much older than Ben. To imagine that in less than a decade, Ben would technically be older than her. When he was forty, fifty, sixty; his older sister was always going to be twenty-one.

Ben shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "That doesn't matter right now. What does is that my dad wrote me a letter today."

Remus raised his eyebrows in shock. While Mr. White treasured his son and loved him with all his heart, he often didn't write because he knew that his correspondence could be intercepted. "What did he say?"

"He told me that yesterday, Clarke and her sister were found dead. Um, there were three other known werewolves also found on the same day. He wanted me to know to warn you before school gets out because they're not going to release that they were killed because of their lycanthropy."

"Clarke's dead?" Remus couldn't believe that possibly the best Defense professor they ever had was dead.

Ben nodded solemnly. "I don't know how to tell Ursula. They exchange letters once every few months. She'll be crushed."

"You can't keep this from her, you know," Remus said.

"I know. I just need to figure out what to say. There are so many people dying every single day and it's starting to become people we know more and more often."

Remus was about to respond when a shrill scream echoed down the corridor. The duo shared a look, both of them now gripping their wands tightly. Ben reached into his back pocket and pulled out the Marauder's Map. At Remus's questioning glance, Ben muttered, "Nicked it," before whispering the password and searching the map for people near them. Considering it was late and no one was supposed to be out, there weren't a lot of people in the hallways making their search easier.

"It's Olivia Carmichael and Regulus," he said in shock before running off down the corridor with Remus at his heels. They came skidding around the corner only to see Olivia collapsed against the wall, sobbing into her hands hysterically. Regulus was on where to be seen.

Seeing that she was no longer in danger, Ben and Remus both knelt down next to her to check if she was injured.

"Olivia?" Ben asked gently, not wanting to startle the terrified girl.

That didn't work. She jumped and tried to scramble away from the older boys. Both of them held up their hands in a calming matter.

"We're not going to hurt you Olivia," Remus said calmly.

She looked even more terrified. But at least she looked up and met their eyes, "H-h-h-how do you know my name?"

"You're dating Regulus Black, are you not?" When she paled and nodded in shock, Ben continued. "I'm dating his sister, Ursula."

That seemed to calm her down considerably. "You're Benjamin White. You're dad's the Minister for Magic." It wasn't a question. She then looked at Remus, "You must be Remus Lupin then."

He nodded in confirmation, "I am. Olivia, you need to tell us. Did Regulus harm you in any way? We heard you scream."

She shook her head vehemently, unconsciously grabbing her wrists with her opposite hands. Ben saw this and gently, yet forcefully, grabbed her forearm and held up her arms, revealing already forming hand shaped bruises around her wrists.

"This doesn't look like he did nothing." Ben pointed out. "And I would bet this isn't the first time."

"He's never hit me!" Olivia cried, wrenching her wrists away from his grasp. She scrambled to her feet, the two boys doing the same. "He doesn't realize how strong he is sometimes!"

Ben shook his head sadly, "This isn't the first time, is it?"

Her loud sob was answer enough. Remus, his heart going out to the distraught girl, wrapped his arm around her. She sobbed into his shoulder for a good fifteen minutes as the events of what had just transpired processed fully in her mind.

"Olivia," Ben began once she began to calm down. "You shouldn't associate with him anymore. He's not good for you."

"But I love him!" She cried, not wanting to lose the boy she loved.

Remus shook his head, "This is not love."

Olivia shook her head and her eyes hardened as her light green eyes looked into Ben's dark brown, "Does Ursula love her brother?"

Thrown off a bit by the question, Ben nodded so she continued, "I mean both her brothers, Sirius and Regulus."

"Of course she does."

"Has she given up on Regulus?"

Ben knew where this was going and hung his head, "No. And I don't think she ever will."

Olivia straightened her back and regarded the two older boys. "The same goes for me. Until the day I die, I will believe in the goodness in Regulus's heart. No one sees it but he has such a big heart and he loves so completely." She got a faraway look In her eyes. "He's perfect and so kind and gentle and sweet and honorable. From what I understand, he's a fair deal like his sister."

"But he hurt you," Remus said gesturing at her wrists. "That's not acceptable."

Olivia turned back to Ben. "You hurt Ursula, did you not?"

Anger and disgust filled Ben's chest, "I _never_ laid a hand on her." He practically growled.

"What you did was worse. Regulus knew about it and told me. You hurt her heart but she continued to believe in you. Where would you be if she gave up on you? That's why I can't give up on Regulus. He needs someone else fighting for him."

"You do know that we're going to have to tell Ursula about this, right?"

She paled and tightly grabbed one of their hands each, "Please, don't. He may not act like it and her certainly won't admit it out loud, but he loves his sister and doesn't want to disappoint her."

Ben shook his head, "I'm sorry. I can't lie to her."

"Would you want to know this about your sibling?"

Ben stiffened and Olivia gasped, realizing who exactly she was talking to. It may have been over a year ago and she had never even spoken to Annabelle or anyone who knew her, but because her death was first in the war and she was the Minister's pregnant daughter, it made quite the impression on the minds of many.

After a tense moment, Ben nodded tersely. "I would. Because I don't want some false belief of the type of person she was."

"It will hurt her," Olivia desperately tried to rationalize. Ursula couldn't find out about what had happened.

"That may be so. But she will undoubtedly find out later and then be hurt even more."

Before Olivia could try another plea, Remus cut in. "It's past hours. I won't take points from Hufflepuff but go back to your dorm now. Tomorrow, go to the hospital wing to get your injuries tended to. I don't care what lie you feed to Pomfrey, but those will hurt when you wake up tomorrow."

She was silent as she nodded and walked back to her common room with her head hung low. Remus shook his head in disbelief. "Can you imagine Regulus doing that? Ursula'll be furious when she finds out."

"I know," Ben said sadly. He seemed to be greatly bothered by something so Remus questioned it. Ben sighed, it was a blessing and curse to have a friend know you better than yourself sometimes. "How did you forgive me after what I did? Elyse forgave me because she always knew that I'd come back. It took James and Sirius until the attack at Christmas before they stopped glaring at me. I still think Peter hates me. But you just accepted me back. Why?"

Remus was silent as he thought about his answer. "Honestly, I didn't want to lose you as a friend. You understand Ben, that with my condition, friends like you are something I thought I would never have. I never had friends growing up. The first friend I made was Ursula technically, along with the rest of you. And I just can't understand it sometimes. Why would you guys want to be friends with a beast that murders and kills and ruins families? But you guys seem to embrace Moony more than I do. That's why I put up with James and Sirius's antic's all the time; why I don't snap at Peter's stupidity at times; why I never say anything when Ursula loses her temper at someone; why I don't rat out Elyse as a seer. That's why I never said anything about what you did and said to Ursula. I'm too scared to lose any of you."

"Damn, Remus," Ben said in shock. "You know we'll still be friends if you put us in our place when we're out of line."

"You don't know what it's like to go six years without any friends and shunned from society."

"Still, I can't believe that you hold all that stuff back. I would rather hear what you have to say."

Remus gave him a disbelieving look. "Really?"

Ben nodded and then stopped. He braced himself and waved his hands towards himself. "Yeah, you've five minutes. Give it to me. Everything I've done to annoy you, anytime I've been a prick, you let me have it."

"Are you serious?"

Ben gave him an exasperated look, "Seriously? Haven't you figured out which one is which? I'm Ben. Sirius has the black curly hair."

Remus rolled his eyes but did move to stand in front of Ben. He looked at Ben who was looking at him with completely honest and open eyes. "Anything goes?"

"Yup. And I won't hold a single bit against you."

Remus nodded and seemed to consider his words before he said them. Then so quickly Ben didn't realize it in time, he pulled his arm back and socked Ben in the jaw. He went flying backwards, falling on his backside. He sat on the ground, rubbing his jaw, looking at Remus with new found appreciation. "Moony! Where the hell have you been hiding that arm?!"

He didn't answer and instead held his hand down to help his friend stand back up. He pulled Ben back to his feet. "Are you okay?" He asked, worriedly.

Ben nodded, smiling widely. "Never better! I deserved that."

"You sure you're okay?" Remus was already feeling the guilt of punching his best friend.

Ben slung his arm around Remus's shoulder. "Of course I am Moony. I plan to fight Voldemort while being an Auror and an Order member. I think I can handle a punch that I deserved. I did say anything goes."

"Still shouldn't have hit you," Remus said.

Ben rolled his eyes, "Fine. Next time you gave give your dissertation on how much of a prick I can be. Does that sound better?"

"Exponentially," Remus said with an eye roll of his own.

"Why didn't you just rant? You're not the violent type."

"I was thinking of all the things you've done I in the past year and the only thing I wanted to do was punch you," Remus explained. After a pause, he added, "That and I'm tired. Punching you was easier."

Ben laughed and shoved Remus's shoulder good naturedly. They continued rounds in the same manner, joking and messing around. With the end of the year rapidly approaching, a lot of students were trying to get as much sleep as possible. When they finally got back to the Tower, they went up to their room to find James and Sirius collapsed onto of their sheets, already asleep.

Seeing it peeking out from under the pillow, Ben reached out and grabbed the mirror from Sirius's hand. "Ursula Black." He said into it. A few minutes later, Ursula's face appeared. She rubbed her eyes, clearly exhausted.

"Ben? Waz oo wan?" She slurred.

"It's about Regulus. Meet me in the Balcony in a few minutes?"

At the mention of her little brother, Ursula was instantly awake. She nodded. "Is he okay?"

Ben hesitated, "He might not be after you get through with him."

Now confused and worried, Ursula quickly climbed out of bed and said to Ben. "I'll be there in thirty seconds."

With that, she broke the connection. Ben grabbed his broom and after bidding Remus good night, he jumped out of the window and flew to the other side of the Tower. Ursula was standing there with her night robe tied tightly around her to protect her from the cold night air.

"What did he do?" She demanded before his feet touched the stone.

Ben sighed and recounted the story of what happened, watching as Ursula's face grew more and more furious. He almost felt bad for Regulus.

* * *

The first day of April was absolutely gorgeous. The birds who nested on Hogwarts grounds chirped out their beautiful songs. A gentle spring breeze swept through the open corridors. The morning dew made the grass look like it was full of diamonds in the early morning sun. A few students had been roused from their sleep but none ventured out of their Common Rooms yet. That is, all except one.

Ursula Black stormed through the hallway, down the stairs, through more corridors, past the potions rooms, until finally stopping in front of the Slytherin portrait hole. Without a moment's hesitation, she shouted the password, "Basilisk!" The wall slid to the side and she stormed into the Common Room, terrifying a group of first years who were awake sitting in their lounge area. None of them seemed to process that she was a Gryffindor that got into their common room. That, or they were too scared to do anything.

She stormed over to the stair case she knew led to the boy's dorm. She climbed until she found the Fourth Years' room. She tried the handle but found that it was locked. Without a second thought, she leaned back and kicked the door in with a deafening bang. All six of the residents of the room, jerked awake.

"Ursula!?" Regulus asked in shock when he saw his _Gryffindor_ sister in his _Slytherin_ room. "How the hell did you get in here?"

She didn't answer. Her nostrils were flared and her mouth was set in a ferocious scowl. She stormed over to his bed and violently yanked him out of his bed. He stumbled to his feet and had no choice but to follow her out of the room. He was just able to grab his dressing robe before being forcefully thrown out of his room. Ursula shoved him down the stairs.

Once at the landing, she grabbed his arm again and yanked him out of the common room and shoved him against the opposite wall.

"What the hell Ursula!" He yelled when she yanked his wrist so suddenly, he was sure he heard a pop.

"Oh, doesn't feel so good to be on the receiving end, huh?" She snarled at him.

Regulus threw his arms up in exasperation, "I have no idea what is going on in your blood-traiter addled brain but you need to get away from me."

"I'm sure that's what Olivia said last night when you grabbed her wrists so tightly you left the imprint of your fingers." She sneered. "What the hell are you doing to her! I sure as hell never thought you would ever raise your hand to a woman!"

"She's not a woman, she's a mudblood."

The crack of her hand hitting his face echoed down the hallway. He was reminded of this scene happening months ago in the tapestry room in Grimmauld Place.

"Do not use that word." She hissed. "You are not like them Reggie. You are better than this."

Regulus laughed sardonically, "You still haven't figured out that I don't need some saving. I chose this life. I am dedicated to this cause that MUDBLOOD Carmichael needed to see that. She's just as pathetic as you."

She shoved him against the wall. In the back of her mind, she wondered when her little brother became taller than her. Considering she hadn't been close to him in just under a year, she hadn't noticed his growth spurt. But that didn't' register with her. At that moment, her emotions were all over the place.

"Regulus. You do not believe this. If you did, you wouldn't have befriended her in the first place. You wouldn't have used accidental magic to try to protect me from Walburga when she got the letter from McGonagall. You're just putting up a façade but I can see through it."

"Like hell you can. You can't even see the obvious. You're on the losing side of this battle. You should feel lucky that Bella has already called dibs on your life otherwise I would love the honor it would give me in the Dark Lord's eyes."

"Dark Lord? Honor?" She questioned in confusion. At Regulus's smug smile, Ursula felt her heart sink into her stomach. "Reggie, please, tell me you didn't." She begged.

"Do what?" He taunted.

He was not expecting her to reach out for his arm and pull his robe sleeve up, revealing the slithering Dark Mark tattooed on his skin. She staggered back at him in revulsion. "Who else?" She questioned in horror, knowing that there had to be more in Slytherin with those marks.

Regulus snorted, "Like I would give away my brothers and sisters to a traitor."

She grabbed the front of his robes and yanked him down to her eye level. "One of my best friends," she began softly and steadily, "spends a great deal of time with a certain Slytherin. Does he or does he not have the Mark on his arm?" She demanded of him.

Regulus was silent and their extremely similar eyes were engaged in a silent duel. Ursula was the one who came out victorious. Regulus dropped his gaze, "You know the answer to that."

She dropped his robes and stepped away from him. "Regulus…" she began, her unfinished sentence clear to her brother. "_I'm here for you, always._"

He didn't say anything. He simply glared at her and retreated back to his common room. Ursula stood there a moment, processing the Mark she saw on her little brother's arm.

"Sweet Merlin," she groaned as she felt her stomach heave. She ran to the potions room and threw up into the nearest trash bin. Regulus had abused his girlfriend. He had the Dark Mark on his arm. Her sweet, innocent baby brother was a Death Eater.

She had failed.

* * *

When James and Sirius sauntered into the Great Hall that morning, their spirits were soaring higher than the Ravenclaws when they figured out a particularly difficult problem.

After sitting down at the table at their friends' sides, they smirked at each other before digging in.

Remus saw their exchange from over the top of his book and looked at them suspiciously. "Don't you two look like the cat that caught the canary," he commented.

"Moony, my friend, you have no idea."

"That's what we're worried about," Ben commented as he munched on his toast. His arm was around Ursula, who looked a little paler than usual but otherwise fine. He offered her a bite of his toast but she held up her hand in rejection.

"Woot did yeh two do?" Elyse asked.

Sirius looked at Elyse oddly. "I told you about this after practice Friday."

Elyse shrugged, "I don't even remember woot I had fer dinner yesterday."

"Just wait for it," James said in anticipation.

Yelps from the hallway outside carried into the Hall. Everyone shared a look of confusion as the yelps suddenly turned into laughter. Everyone quickly scrambled to their feet and rushed to the hallway.

Ursula and Elyse laughed when they saw what James and Sirius had done. The floors were no longer stone. Instead it was a black material with springs near the wall.

"Yeh didn't," Elyse said with a smile as she watched everyone jumping up and down laughing.

"Oh, we did." Sirius and James said together with satisfied smirks. They bumped their fists together, proud of their work. James's smile doubled in size when he saw Lily a little farther away, laughing with Alice as they watched the other students make fools of themselves.

Ben snorted, "You're not the only one who did something."

James and Sirius spun around and looked in confusion. This time, Ben and Remus shared a look before muttering a spell and pointing their wands at the stairs. Suddenly, the outside edges of the stairs turned into slides, the middle remaining the usual staircase.

"How the hell did you figure out how to do that?" Sirius demanded.

"A Marauder never reveals his secrets," Ben said mysteriously, barely able to be heard over the laughter and chaos that surrounded them.

The rest of the day was spent in a similar manner. Someone spiked the teacher's drinks at breakfast so that when classes started, all their voices sounded like they sucked on helium. No one would fess up to it but when the Divination teacher had to go to the hospital wing because his voice had completely disappeared, it was impossible for Elyse to hide her smirk.

The teachers tried to be annoyed and stern about the shenanigans but seeing their stressed students laughing and looking like they weren't about to have a mental breakdown, they couldn't help but laugh at the pranks themselves. McGonagall seemed to figure out who was behind it, giving the seven of them an inordinate amount of points in transfiguration for answering simple questions properly.

Ursula was glad for the distraction. After her morning encounter with her brother, this was exactly what she needed. OWLs may be right around the corner, her brother may be a Death Eater, her pseudo-father was dying, and her own cousin had a hit out on her but at that moment, sitting at lunch holding onto Ben's hand under the table, listening to James and Sirius explain how they pulled off their prank, she felt like everything would be fine.

* * *

_There you go! I decided to leave the author's note on the bottom this time because I don't really have much to say. I will say that if you have Pottermore, you need to go check that out because they give the full background on Remus and I nearly cried reading it. I am going to have to fix bits of my story now that his past is much clearer but for the most part, the main part of my story still fits into canon. There was a little hint about what is up with Elyse's vision in this chapter, even though there is no vision. Also, I think there is going to only be one more chapter. Um...oh, yeah. I am going to be doing a oneshot, or series of oneshots, about Olivia and Regulus and their relationship from the very beginning to the end. I don't know when it will be published but probably eventually...one day...maybe before Christmas. Sorry, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to update since I will be leaving for college in about a month. Who knows. I might have more or less time depending on classes and stuff. _

_Anywho, you guys only need six more reviews before you get the sneak peek for the Doctor Who that has yet to be named! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, read, favorited, or alerted. You are all wonderful people and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!  
_


	19. OWLS

_Sorry for the delay on this one but I think it is worth the weight. I think this might end up being one of the longest chapters I have ever written so be prepared. It is quite epic. _

_On a similar note, besides updating this story, I also published the first of the oneshots in regards to the relationship between Olivia and Regulus. It's titled **Worlds Apart **and it is on my profile page if you want to go check it out. There will be more to come with additions to that story about every two weeks. This story is going to be updated in the next week because I only have one more week left of summer and I want this story done before I go back to school. _

_Since this chapter has a scene that I'm sure you will all recognize, I am going to put the disclaimer out there that I own nothing you recognize. Everything you do belongs to JK Rowling. I only own my OCs and certain plot lines._

* * *

Three days before the OWL exams began, a lone student stood outside the Great Hall, simply looking up at the doors. Elyse couldn't believe that what would happen inside of that room in the next two weeks would determine her future. She was so used to be in control of the future, being able to see what she wanted and when she wanted. But recently, it seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't call up a vision nor could she see the outcomes of these tests. It seemed that whenever she tried, she simply gave herself a headache that would last for days. She attributed it to the stress but there was something else that she couldn't identify that made her uneasy.

Since it was very early, not a lot of students were up and about. So far, only one Ravenclaw Elyse didn't recognize passed by her.

That was how she stood for fifteen minutes without interruption. That is, until faint footsteps gradually grew louder from behind her. She turned and was mildly surprised to see James practically storm past her and glare up at the wall next to the door.

"I'm surprised yeh're up this early," Elyse commented.

James seemed to not hear her and continued to grow angrier and angrier the longer he stared at the wall. His fists clenched and unclenched a handful of times; his tell that he was fuming.

"James?" Elyse questioned worriedly, now greatly concerned for her friend.

"Damn, I guess you can't sneak up on a seer."

Elyse screamed out in shock. The voice came from _behind_ her. James may have responded but it wasn't from the James she was looking at. She spun around and saw a perfectly disheveled James walking up to her.

"James?" She said incredulously, unable to believe what she seeing. She grabbed his arm and roughly threw him towards his doppelganger.

She gasped when James – no Harry – turned and looked down the hall, facing the same way as his father. She had seen Harry as a toddler before but seeing the same age as his father… The only differences she could see were James's slightly longer nose and their differing eye colors. Elyse took a few steps closer looking between the pair in awe. That was when she saw the scar on Harry's forehead.

"Um, Lucky, what are you looking at?" Trying to figure out what Elyse was looking at. He turned his head at where she was staring only to see thin air. There was nothing there.

"Yeh look so similar," she said in awe, gently tracing where the scar would have been on James's head.

"Who?" James asked exasperatedly. There wasn't anyone in the school who looked anything remotely like him and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why Elyse was tracing a zigzag on his forehead.

"Yer son," she said so softly, James wasn't sure he heard her correctly. Just then, for Elyse, the second Potter disappeared, fading into nothing.

"My _what_?" He demanded, gripping the top of her arm tightly

Elyse was saved from answering by the arrival of Ben, Peter, and Remus. Once they saw the duo, Ben pulled out the mirror Ursula had given him to use and said, "We found her. She's already down here." Ursula responded by grumbling something back about leaving notes.

"Woot's that aboot?" Elyse asked.

"Muse was worried when you weren't in your room this morning. She couldn't find you but she had to get ready so we got sent on a reconnaissance mission."

"Ursula worries too much," James complained. "Why didn't she just check the map?"

Ben gave James a dead panned look, "We thought of that. But someone has the map."

James looked confused until he reached into his pocket and realization dawned on his face. He still pulled out the map and handed it to Ben. "There you go."

To say Ben was not amused was an understatement. He rolled the map in his hands and when he walked past James to go into the Great Hall, he wacked him over the head with the paper.

"Oi! That was uncalled for!" James complained, rubbing his head as he followed his friends into the hall to eat.

The rest of the day was quite stressful. It was the last classes before OWLs started the next Monday. In addition to the normal amount of stress of the OWLs weighing down on them, the added problem of Remus's full moon falling right in the middle of testing. It had been a subject of debate between all of them, some of the debates turning into arguments which then continued to escalate into screaming matches.

Later that night, they were sitting around the fire. James was lounging on the sofa, his feet on Sirius's lap and his head resting against Elyse's shoulder. Remus was sitting on the ground, a book resting on the small table that most people usually kicked their feet up on. It was the perfect height that when he was sitting on the ground, he could rest his books there and be able to read without straining his neck. Peter was in the armchair, his legs folded so he was resting his own book on his knees. Ben was sitting on the ground as well, his back resting against the sofa on Elyse's end. Ursula was sitting between his legs, her back resting against his chest. Ben's arms were wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him while her own hands rested on top of his.

"So what are we going to do about our problem?" Sirius brought up out of the blue.

They all groaned, knowing that this would just lead to another loud argument.

"What?" Sirius complained at their reactions. "We need to figure this out. We sure as hell can't only go with one or two of us."

Remus disagreed completely. "No." he said adamantly. "You're OWL scores are much more important than spending the night with me. I've spent enough of them alone. I can deal with one on my own."

"That's exactly why we should go," Elyse countered. "We've noticed that yeh haven't been as violent lately. If we leave fer one moon, we'll've ter restart from teh beginnin'."

"Does anyone know which OWL is the next morning?" Ben asked out of curiosity, realizing that that had somehow never been brought up in previous arguments.

Remus pulled out the schedule and after quickly scanning it said, "History of Magic."

James snorted and said, "That settles it, we're going that night. No one gives a rat's ass, no offense Wormy, about History of Magic."

Peter flushed red and stuttered something about it being okay, fidgeting in his seat.

It seemed that Elyse had different ideas, "I don't know. I'm not gonna go teh same route as teh rest o' yeh. I need as many OWLs as I kin git." She argued.

"Lucky, tell me right now that you think you have a realistic chance of actually passing that test. Because, honestly, I don't think you do."

"Sirius!" Ursula yelled at her brother, glaring at him.

He held his hands up in defense, "I'm just saying what's true. Binns didn't teach anyone anything. The only people I think will pass are you, me, James, and Ben. Maybe Remus, but that's it. And the only reason is because we're from pureblood families that taught us most of this stuff since we were able to talk. Hell, half the people we'll be tested on either caused and/or prevented the event in question!"

"Passing OWLs isn't the point of this," James said, bringing everyone back. "It's that we all agree that we are going with Moony during OWLs week."

"I don't think you should," Remus argued.

"Why don't we just vote? It's an odd number so there can't be a tie." Ben proposed.

James sat up and clapped Ben on the shoulder, "See! There's the politician's son we all know and love! Alright, all in favor of going?"

He raised his hand, as did Ursula, Ben, and Sirius. "All in favor of being a baby?" This time Remus, Elyse, and Peter raised their hands.

James smirked cockily, "There you have it. We're going."

"But it's not fair!" Peter whined.

Thus the argument started up again, this time everyone speaking all at once. James was running this hands through his hair agitatedly, Ursula's hands were flying through the hair as she passionately spoke about staying, Ben and Sirius were locked in a fierce debate with Remus, while Peter's higher voice carried over everyone else's as he complained about he simply couldn't go.

Elyse felt her head begin to pound horribly from the noise. She massaged her temple but that didn't alleviate any of the pain. Finally unable to take the pain any longer, she stood up, careful not to knock into Ben or Ursula. In her trunk upstairs, she had some muggle medicine that helped with her headaches. That and it would be quiet up there. None of them seemed to notice her departure.

She had maybe gone up four or five steps when suddenly all the shouting ceased to exist except for James shouting, "REMUS'S FURRY LITTLE—" He froze when the entire common room turned to stare at him. "—problem." He finished lamely, looking like he wished the floor would swallow him whole.

"Remus's what?" Lily asked, just walking in the portrait hole along with Alice and Marlene. The six of them by the fire stared at the trio in panic and fear. For the most notorious group of pranksters getting out of trouble with a twist of words, they had all frozen. That is, until James caught sight of Elyse peaking around the corner of the stairwell, out of sight of the others, and most importantly, Lily.

Winging it, he opened his mouth and said, "Yeah, Remus's furry little problem. You can't tell anyone because it could get him into some trouble."

Lily's eyes narrowed, "Why?"

The rest of them stared at James unbelievably as he leaned back casually, seemingly confident about the lie he was about to tell, "He brought his rabbit from home. Poor guy couldn't bear to be separated from…Clover for long. She likes to escape out of her cage and when we came back from dinner, she was gone. Poor Remus has been distraught after losing his beloved pet."

He shot a look over at the stairwell and Elyse immediately understood what he wanted her to do. Promising herself that she would get back at James for this, she checked to make sure no one was coming up or going down the stairs, before morphing herself into her animagus form. The second it was compete, she bolted down the stairs and hopped around the room, moving at a fantastic speed, scaring the students.

The Black twins, James, and Ben were all laughing while Peter was nearly wetting himself at the sight. Remus was trying to fight a smile but the corners of his mouth twitched up as he watched her display. She hopped over to Lily, who was looking at her like she was the cutest thing in the world, thumped her foot on the ground a couple of times before bolting over to the sofa. She hoped up and landed on James's head, bopping him in the head before nestling herself on Remus's lap.

Lily, Alice, and Marlene were laughing at James, who was now glaring at Elyse. Now it was Remus's turn to smirk and he gently petted Lucky's back. "Good Clover," Remus praised her, shooting James a look.

Lily walked over and knelt down to sit by Remus, "Can I hold her? Anything that does that to Potter is good in my books."

Remus picked up Lucky and handed her to Lily. "Behave," he said in mock seriousness, keeping up appearance of Lucky, no Clover, being his pet.

"Does she do stuff like that often?" Alice questioned.

"Only to James," Remus answered.

"Good Clover," Lily cooed, petting Lucky's head. Elyse's nose twitched and she snuggled her head into Lily's hand. She smirked victoriously when she felt James's glare on her back. Serves him right, she thought. The prat…

The first OWL was Charms. After months and months of preparation, Sirius and James were greatly disappointed with the lack of challenge on the tests. They finished their tests well within the allotted time and were able to squeeze in a quick nap. Ursula, Ben, and Remus faired much the same, though Ben accidentally shrunk the phial instead of making it grow. Remus assured him it wasn't that bad since he had misspelled the cheering charm incantation on the written portion.

* * *

The next day was the test that no one was necessarily looking forward to but knew they would pass with flying color – potions. With almost all of their pranks, they used potions so they were well versed in a lot of different areas of the subject. There was not a single question on the entire test they didn't know and they were able to perfectly execute all of the assigned potions. Elyse however, struggled a fair deal when it came down to the nitty-gritty details, able to give the basic gist of the effects of certain potions but not able to fully explain them. Panic then settled in and she started to draw more and more blanks. Just as she was on the verge of tears when she couldn't remember for the life of her any of the twelve uses of dragon's blood when Sirius discretely motioned for her to take a few deep breaths, seeing her panic building. Elyse closed her eyes, fighting away yet another headache, and took three deep breaths. When she opened them and reread the question, she calmed considerably and wrote down all but one.

"Did anyone else almost lose it at question fifteen? '_Please a) describe the main use of __animalis humana__ and b) list the three main ingredients _.'" James said arrogantly. "I could have answered that question in my sleep."

"You probably were sleeping," Remus said dryly.

"Nah, he was sketching a picture of Evans on his spare bit of parchment like a little first year with a crush." Sirius ratted out his friend. James flushed and shoved Sirius into a group of oncoming Slytherins. They glared at the pair but didn't say anything since there were professors all around.

Peter hung his head sadly, "I think I forgot one of the steps."

They all looked at him gob smacked. Ben was the one to respond, "Wormy, for the love of— you're an animagus! We made the potion together! I went over the ingredient with you nine times!"

"I forgot, alright," Peter snapped back insecurely.

The next test was much simpler. Herbology was the class that they all did fairly well at but not spectacularly. It was Alice who would lead the study sessions in the library, knowing everything about the subject that they needed to know plus some.

It was during the Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL when everything changed.

The morning of the test, Elyse knew that it was going to be a horrible day. Her head was pounding and when she got up, she stumbled and stubbed her toe on the edge of Marlene's trunk. After hobbling to the bathroom, she proceeded to somehow accidentally poke herself in the eye with her brush. After stumbling down the stairs, tripping down the last step, she finally made it where the rest of her friends were standing. They were all looking at her in concern. She waved them off, "It's nothin'."

"Lucky, you can barely walk straight," James pointed out.

Elyse was about to argue but she tripped on the edge of the rug and would have painfully introduced her face to the side table next to the sofa near the fireplace if Sirius hadn't grabbed her around the waist and kept her upright.

"That's it. Get on my back." He ordered her.

She looked at him like he was crazy, which he probably was. Sirius rolled his eyes and turned around and grabbed her arms over his shoulders, "Come on, we have seven flights of moving staircases with trick steps randomly throughout. If you walk down on your own you're going to end up killing yourself."

Conceding to his point, Elyse hopped up onto Sirius's back, making sure to not wrap her arms around his throat but a little lower while also wrapping her legs around his waist. To keep her steady and to keep her from slipping, he held onto her thighs, holding her tight as to not risk any injury for either of them.

One hour later, Elyse was sitting in one of the hundred or so desks in the Great Hall, listening to Professor Flitwick as stacks of the test booklet floated past, one of them coming to a rest in front of her.

Once everyone got a test, Flitwick turned over the giant hour glass in the front with a levitation spell and said, "You may begin."

Elyse turned the paper over, scanning the front sheet quickly before going back to number one. '_Describe a boggat's natural form and a) explain how/when it changes and why and b) name the charm that combats a boggart.'_

She immediately remembered the day back in third year, Clarke making them all face their deepest fears. She smiled, that was easy. She put her quill down on the parchment to begin writing when her hand wouldn't move. She couldn't remember anything about it.

Remembering that this exact thing had happened during the potions exam, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. When she opened them, she reread the question. She wrote '_Unknown, changes into what a person fears when they are standing in front of it,—"_

That was all she could remember. The charm to get rid of it was on the tip of her quill but her hand wouldn't move to write it out. She wracked her mind, trying to remember. Nothing came to mind. She knew that she knew, she just forgot.

Figuring that it would come to her later, she moved onto the next question and found that she could not spell the word for the charm used in duels to make green sparks. She had just reread those notes two days ago and she was sure that she had gone over the spelling then. Panic began to swell in her chest and it felt like her tongue was made of sand paper. She couldn't remember anything. Flipping frantically though the test, question after question, she had no idea what the great majority of answers were.

Panic level was at about a five when she got to number fifteen and could only think of one feature of a werewolf even though she spent the last three full moons with one. The level jumped to ten when she got to number forty-six, '_Write a) the incantation used to summon an spirit guardian to protect from dementors and lethifolds b) the emotion needed for the incantation and c) the wand movement.'_ She knew the spell. She had performed it dozens of times. Hell, she had saved her entire village from Dementors when she was only in second year! But no matter how hard she thought, she couldn't recall any of the answers.

Elyse found her friends' desks and looked to see that they were doing fine. James was already finishing up essay portion, as was Ben. Sirius was doodling on the side of his parchment, Ursula was just starting the last essay, Remus was about half way through double checking his short answer questions, somehow finding more to add to his answers that were so thorough that he had no space left between questions, and Peter was nervously looking at his neighbor's paper, trying to catch a hint here and there.

"Five more minutes," Professor Flitwick called out from the front. Elyse's hear jumped to her throat, her hands became clammy, and her head began to pound painfully. Five minutes and she had been able to barely answer any of the questions.

All of a sudden, a figure nearby flew past her desk, through the one in front of her, and down five more rows.

Elyse wanted to sob when she saw Harry staring at his father in awe. A myriad of emotions crossed his face; joy, longing, excitement, pride, and just a hint of sadness.

James yawned and ruffled his hair and after making sure he wouldn't get caught, he turned and grinned behind him at Sirius. She watched as Harry's face seemed to become more excited and thrilled. Sirius returned James's grin with a thumbs up as he leaned back precariously in his chair.

Then a thought seemed to occur to Harry and he began searching around the room for certain faces. She watched as his smile grew when he found Remus, now reviewing his essays. He then found Ben next. He looked at him almost in confusion until he spied Ursula sitting adjacent to him, the pair silently communicating through their eyes. Then Harry's eyes filled with a similar emotion, not unlike the one he had on his face when he first saw his father. It seemed like a mixture of shock, delight, and grief.

Elyse didn't have much time to dwell on that. No, she found it much more concerning that when Harry found Peter's face, his own morphed into one of pure loathing. No doubt had Harry been solid, Elyse honestly thought he would try to kill Peter.

Then Harry turned back to his father, watching him doodle. Elyse didn't have to be a seer to know it was something to do with Lily's initials. Then Harry's head snapped up, like he felt her eyes on him, and stared at her in awe. Her pale green eyes met his emerald green for an antagonizing ten seconds. The level of surprise and shock on his face was nothing compared to before. It wasn't even that. He looked surprised that she existed.

"Quills down, please," squeaked Professor Flitwick. That broke their staring contest. "That means you too, Stebbins. Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! _Accio_!"

Her paper flew towards the front of the room, along with the rest of her year mates' parchments. The force of all the parchment flying towards the tiny professor sent him toppling backwards. Some students laughed while a few in the front row went to help him get up.

Despondent after the horrible test, Elyse faked a smile as she joined up with her friends outside the entrance hall.

"Did you like question ten, Moon?" Sirius asked in jest.

"Loved it," Remus briskly responded. "_'Give five signs that identify the werewolf_.' Excellent question."

"D'you think you managed to get all the signs?" James asked his usual sarcastic tone of mock concern. Ursula rolled her eyes and cuffed James on the back of the head before moving over to walk next to Ben, their hands magnetically latching on to each other.

"I think I did," Remus said seriously. At this point, they had joined the masses that were crowding around the front door, ready to get out into the sunlight, at least for a little while before they had their practical later that afternoon. "One: He's sitting in my chair. Two: He's wearing my clothes. Three: His name's Remus Lupin…"

They all laughed at Remus's dry sense of humor. Internally and externally, Ursula was beaming. For Remus to be openly joking about his condition, no matter how sarcastic, was fantastic, considering he had barely been able to tell his closest friends about his condition without having a nervous breakdown.

Peter was the only one who remained despondent. He kicked a pebble on the stone path, his hands stuffed into his pockets, "I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes, and the tufted tail," he said anxiously, "but I couldn't think of anything else."

To say that James and Sirius were extremely annoyed was an understatement.

"How thick are you, Wormtail," said James impatiently. "You run around with a werewolf once a month—"

"Keep your voice down," Remus said imploringly while Ben shushed him and Ursula covered James's mouth with her hand. She yelped and wiped her hand frantically on James's arm, glaring at him the entire time.

"You licked me!" She shouted at him.

While James and Ursula argued like they always did, Elyse placed her arm around Peter's shoulder. "Don't sweat it Pete. I forgot aboot all five o' 'em."

Peter didn't have a chance to express his shock that she hadn't been able to answer a single one as they were now outside, following after James and Sirius across the lawn towards the lake.

"Well, I thought the paper was a piece of cacke," Sirius said arrogantly. "I'll be surprised if I don't Outstanding on it at least."

"At least? What's more?" Ben jokingly asked. Sirius turned his head to glare at the boy, his black hair falling elegantly into his eyes, giving him a dark look about him while he glared. Then he just rolled his eyes and plopped down on the ground.

"Me too," James said, choosing to ignore Ben's rhetorical question. James reached into his pocket and pulled out something golden and Elyse near about tackled him when she recognized it.

"James!" She shouted at him, wincing as the pain in her head increased tenfold. "Woot teh hell're yeh doin' wit me snitch!?"

James shrugged, catching the snitch after letting it float around a moment. "Nicked it after our last practice. We won't need it for finals so I took it." He said casually.

"You're not even a seeker," Ursula pointed out. "You're a chaser."

He rolled his eyes, not at all bothered by her accusation. "So are you but I see you like Keepers. Why can't I like my snitch?"

"That makes no sense," Ben argued.

"Doesn't matter if it makes sense. I'm captain and I wanted a snitch so I took one. End of story," James said definitively.

Elyse decided it would be best if she ignored his arrogance. Usually, she would try to keep it in check but her entire body felt drained after that test. It also didn't help that Harry was still standing there, his eyes going between someone sitting a bit away while also trying to keep a close eye on James.

She looked at her friends. James was still playing with his Snitch; letting it fly farther and farther away each time to ensure his catches would be that more impressive. Every so often, she would see him look down towards the lake where Lily, Alice, and Marlene were dipping their toes into the water, and then ruffle his hair even more to make it messier. Peter was watching James with rapt attention, applauding after every catch as gasping every time it almost made it past his fingers, feeding James's ego an exorbitant amount. Sirius was lounging on the grass, looking broodingly bored. Ben was leaning against the tree, reading a transfiguration book while Ursula's head rested on his lap as she lay down on the grass, reading a muggle book she borrowed from Lily. Remus was also leaning against the tree, his nosed buried in the same book as Ben.

"Put that away, will you," Sirius finally complained finally, sick of heaing Peter squeal like a girl every time James caught the snitch. "Before Wormtail wets himself from excitement."

"Yeah James, we can't have your ego getting too big can we?" Ursula asked sarcastically, not even looking up from the book.

James, as it has always been in regards to the Black twins, gave into their requests and stuffed the Snitch back into his pocket. "If it bothers you," he said sullenly.

"I'm bored," Sirius complained. "I wish it was the full moon already," he said wistfully looking up at the sky as he rolled onto his back, moving his right arm behind his head to act as a pillow.

"You might," said Remus darkly. "We've still got Transfiguration, if you're bored you can test me and Ben…Here.: He held out his book for Sirius to take and Ben closed his own.

Sirius snorted, "I don't need to look at that rubbish. I know it all."

"And you're so humble aboot it," Elyse said in a snarky tone. Sirius didn't take it personally and sat up halfway and winked at her.

"This'll liven you you, Padfoot," James said quietly. "Look who it is…"

All of their heads turned, minus Remus who had gone back to reading. Sirius and Ursula had become very still, like dogs that had just found the rabbit it had been hunting forever.

"Excellent," he said softly with a slight snarl. "_Snivellus_."

Snape was now walking back towards the castle. James, Sirius, and Ursula were on their feet, walking towards him. After a moment's hesitation, Ben sighed and placed his book on the grass and followed after his girlfriend. He knew something had transpired between her and Regulus that night a few weeks ago and that it somehow connected back to Snape. While Ursula was not a cruel person, she seemed more lax with her moral compass when it came to James and Sirius doing something to Snape.

Peter was looking between the quartet and Snape like a tennis match, switching back and forth to see who would make the first move. It was then that Elyse realized that for some reason, she was still seeing James's son watching this. The look of confusion and slight horror at what he expected to happen sent off panic signals in Elyse's mind. She knew that James was not a bad person and that he would love his son to death. Literally; he would die for his son at a young age. Elyse knew that. She knew Harry would never know James. She couldn't bear this being his only memory of his father. She stood up and tried to make it through the growing crowd to the future Gryffindor.

"All right, Snivellus?" James asked loudly.

Always on edge, Snape reacted so quickly it was if he had known this would happen. He reached into his pocket for his wand but James disarmed him with a brisk, "_Expelliarmus!_"

Snape's wand went flying in the air, far out of his reach. Sirius let out a bark of laughter while Ursula sniggered behind her hand, feeling none of her usual remorse at James's cruel behavior towards other students.

"_Impedimenta!_" He said, pointing his eand at Snape, who was thrown off his feet. By this point, a large crowd had congregated. Some were simply there to watch, some were apprehensive about it, looking like they wanted to stop this but not sure how, and the rest looked entertained.

"How did the exam go, Snivelly?" James taunted.

Sirius then chimed in. "I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment," he said viciously. "There'll be grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word."

"You—wait," Snape panted as he struggled to get, bound by invisible ropes. "You—wait…"

"Wait for what?" Ursula sneered coldly. "For you to rub your dirty, greasy nose all over us? Or better yet, ring out the grease from your hair?"

Snape let out a string of swear words and hexes directed at Ursula. Ben pulled her back and stepped in front of her, his own wand out ready to protect her. But since Snape was far enough away and wandless, nothing happened.

Sirius didn't take the insults against his sister kindly and neither did James.

"Don't speak to her that way. Wash out your mouth," James said coldly. "_Scourgify_."

Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him—

"Leave him ALONE!" A familiar, furious voice shouted from behind them.

Elyse took this chance to move next to Harry who was watching the scene with disgusted horror.

"I swear ter yeh Harry, yer father's a good man," she whispered as James spun around the see a livid Lily storming up towards him.

Harry looked at Elyse for just a moment in shock before he seemed to realize that the red head approaching was his mother. Then he only had eyes for her.

"All right, Evans?" Although James had just said those exact (well, almost exact) words to Snape not even five minutes ago, his inflection was entirely different. Now his voice was calmer, deeper, and more debonair. He ran his free hand through his hair as he asked the question.

"Live him alone," Lily repeated again. If looks could kill, James would have dropped dead that very instant from the look she was giving him. "What's he done to you?"

"Well," James said as he tapped his chin as he faked debating different points. "It's more the fact he _exists_, if you know what I mean…"

The majority of people around James laughed, including Ursula, Sirius, and Peter. Ben tried to hide it but the corner of his mouth twitched into a half smile while Remus continued to just read his book.

"You think you're funny," she said coldly, hate burning every word. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him _alone_."

"I will only if you go out with me, Evans," James said quickily. "Go on…go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

With him distracted with Lily, his impedimenta jinx was slowly wearing off. Snape slowly began to inch towards his fallen wand.

Lily glared at James with all the passion in her fiery, red headed heart, "I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid." she growled.

Sirius hissed in sympathy and placed his hand on James's shoulder, "Bad luck, Prongs." Sirius said.

Out of the corner of Ursula's eye, she saw Snape grab his wand and point it towards James. She reacted quickly, pushing James forward just as a flash of bright light from Snape's wand. Suddenly a gash appeared on the side of her face, splattering Ben and James with blood. James, with fury Elyse had never seen his eyes before, turned his wand on Snape and less than a second after Snape cast his spell, the Slytherin found himself hanging upside down, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of graying underpants.

Ben had gently guided Ursula to the ground, checking on the wound on her face. It stretched right across her cheekbone and was thankfully very thin. Ben didn't think it would scar but they would have to get her to Pomfrey to be sure. Sirius stood in front of the pair, guarding them from any sort of danger that might become them. James turned and looked at Ben with a question in his eyes; was she okay? When Ben nodded, James turned back around with a twisted sneer on his face.

Lily, for a moment who looked like she wanted to laugh but held it back, said, "Let him down!"

"Certainly," James said grimly and jerked his wand upward. Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. He quickly rose to his feet and the second he held his wand out, Sirius shouted, "_Petrificus Totalus!_"

Once again, Snape was keeled over on the ground once again. Elyse didn't know what else to do. This was spiraling out of control and Harry seemed to grow more and more distress as the seconds passed. She turned to him and once again said, "Please Harry, believe me, yer father's a good man. Don't judge him because o' this."

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted, holding her own wand out at James and Sirius. Ben reached into his back pocket, hoping that he wouldn't have to use it against his housemate and friend but if she harmed Sirius or James…

"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," James said with honest sincerity.

Lily seemed to realize that and she struggled to remain as angry as she had been before. She gestured at Snape helplessly, "Take the curse off him, then!"

James sighed, knowing that no matter what, he couldn't deny Lily anything, even if it meant helping the Slytherin he absolutely loathed. "There you go," He said as she Snape got back to his feet, "you're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus—"

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" He spat angrily at Lily. Ursula was instantly on her feet and went to lunge at Snape but Ben wrapped his arms around her waist and held her back. James

Lily blinked once. Twice. "Fine." She said coolly, with no emotion behind her words. "I won't bother in future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, _Snivellus_."

James reacted for both Ursula and himself. He pointed his wand threateningly at Snape's face. "Apologize to Evans!" James roared with so much anger and unadulterated hatred in his voice that some of the bystanders jumped back in fear. They were use to the cool, devil may care attitude James never seemed to drop.

"I don't want you to make him apologize," Lily shouted, rounding on James. "You're just as bad as he is…"

"WHAT?" James yelped. "I'd NEVER call you a – you-know-what!" He shouted back, unable to believe that Lily thought that of him.

Lily shook her head, his disgust. He just never understood; he was too thick headed and arrogant to understand. "Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can—I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK!"

He turned and hurried back towards the castle, Marlene and Alice running after her.

"EVANS!" James shouted after her. "Lily!"

But she didn't look back.

"What is with her?" James asked, trying to make it look like the answer didn't matter to him when it actually meant the whole word but failing.

Sirius, ever the blunt one, said, "Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited mate/"

"Right," James said to himself while nodded. The fire grew back in his eyes and he looked furious again. "Now—"Snape was hanging upside down again. "Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?" He asked with a sneer.

Elyse looked away only to see an adult Snape with his hand on Harry's shoulder. The older Snape looked absolutely furious, though he kept the rage bottled up, expressing it only though his eyes.

For just a moment, they met each other's stares. Snape looked at her in what could only be described as horror for just barely a moment before his face was back to its emotionless mask. Elyse finally found her voice and said, "I'm sorry."

He didn't say anything. Then he and Harry just disappeared.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped when she saw a ragged Remus standing there. "Ben and I are taking Ursula to Pomfrey. Want to come with us?"

Elyse knew that Ursula didn't need three people to help her to the hospital wing for a cut on her cheek but she knew what she was being offered; an escape. With one look at James and Sirius still taunting Snape with Peter cheering them on, Elyse nodded and walk over to where Ursula and Ben were standing.

"Ready?" Ben asked her.

She nodded and they all started the trek up to the hospital wing. While they were on their way, Elyse thought that maybe while they were there, she could get something for her headache before the practical portion of the Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL.

The practical went better than she expected. She was magically able to remember the spell to get rid of a boggart and while her shield charm wasn't as strong as it could have been, she made up her points when her examiner asked her if she could produce a patronus for a bonus point. Apparently, Pod had bragged before the holidays that he had a group of fifth years that could produce corporeal patronus. Without even thinking, she said the proper incantation and the hare began to fly around the room. It was quickly followed by James's stag; both of them were in the examination room at the same time with their names being close in the alphabet.

* * *

It was later that night when Ursula walked down from the boy's dorm to the common room. She had been listening to Ben practice his violin to help her relax. Her cheek still stung a little bit but Madame Pomfrey had healed it for the most part and said that the cut would fade so she didn't have a scar. She didn't voice her concerns but Snape had done that to her nonverbally and under duress. And Sirius had just spent the last three hours researching it; there was no spell that would do that.

When she saw the figure pacing in front of the girls' staircase, looking worried out of his mind, Ursula stopped. "James?" she questioned.

James's hair was a complete mess, even by his standard. His clothes were rumpled and his eyes were half mad looking. He was tapping his fingers against his thighs as he paced.

"Ursula, you have to help me." He begged her, once she was close enough.

"What's wrong?"

James ran his hands through his hair a few times before he kept them in there, pulling at his roots a bit. "Lily. She's up there crying and I can hear her and I just need to explain to her. I need her to know—I can't lose her—I just can't!"

Ursula placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'll go see what I can do."

James physically deflated, his agitated demeanor melting away. He nodded and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you."

With a quick smile in return, Ursula bound up the stairs and knocked on the door once before opening it. "Lily?" she questioned into the dark room.

A sniffle was her only response. Ursula sighed and with a flick of her wand, the candles were lit, giving the room a warm glow. Lily was curled up on her bed, pitifully sniffling.

"Oh, Lily," Ursula said sadly as she walked over and climbed onto the bed, facing Lily. She grabbed Lily's hands in hers comfortingly. "What's going on in that brilliant head of yours?"

"I knew. I _knew_," she said in disbelief. "I've watched Sev fall farther and farther into Dark Arts but I thought that if I just stayed by his side, it would be enough to keep him from joining them. Do you know what I mean?"

Regulus's young face flashed to the front of her mind. Ursula squeezed her hands tighter and nodded. "I know exactly what you are going through. It's like you think it would be enough and you never give up. You give them chance after chance after chance but they still let you down. But that's okay because you love them. But then one day, you realize that no matter what you do or say, you can't stop what happening to them. And it hurts."

Lily cried out again, "It hurts so bad, Ursula! He was my first friend! I loved him like a brother and he betrayed me! I've lost him!"

"I know Lily," Ursula said, gathering Lily into her arms, rocking the distraught girl back and forth as she fought back tears of her won thinking of her own brother. They stayed like that until Lily's sobs quieted down.

"Was I not good enough? Am I not worth it?" Lily questioned softly, as if she truly believed that Ursula would agree with her statements.

Ursual instead reacted the exact opposite. She roughly grabbed Lily by the shoulders, careful not to hurt her but strong enough to pull her into a sitting position. "Now you listen to me Lily Evans. You are good enough. Actually, you're more than good enough. And to even question if you're worth it is preposterous. Lily, my entire family raised me to hate people like you and I can confidently say that I would betray my family for your friendship. And I know someone else who thinks you are worth it and more than good enough."

"Who?" Lily asked through her tears, her heart lifted by Ursula's confession about their friendship.

"Right now, James is pacing back and forth in front of our stairs scared and worried out of his mind because he heard you crying. You may butt heads all the time but Lily, he cares more about you than Snape ever will. Please, go speak to him. He wants to apologize about what happened earlier. And I can say there have been few times I've seen James show actual remorse and I swear to you on the House of Gryffindor, he is truly sorry. Please, give him a chance."

Lily was silent a moment, he head bowed. Finally, she nodded minutely. "I'll go speak with him." She agreed.

Ursula smiled widely and climbed off the bed. She offered her hand to Lily and walked arm and arm down the stairs. When James heard footsteps, he ran forward and stopped a few feet back when he saw Lily standing there next to Ursula. Lily let go of Ursula's arm and took a few steps towards James. She stopped a few feet in front of him, her sad green eyes staring into his unusually serious hazel ones.

"Tell me right now James Potter, am I worth it?"

James shook his head slowly, taking a cautious step towards her, "Always and forever." He solemnly swore. With that, Lily choked back a sob and collapsed against James's chest, unable to handle everything that had happened that day. James wrapped his arms around her but didn't say anything. He rubbed a small circle on her back, trying to comfort her, whispering that she was worth it a million times over and he would never hurt her and that he was so, so sorry.

Ursula felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Mary standing there. "Um, Snape's outside the entrance and he said he won't leave until he sees Lily. What should I do?"

A surge of anger rushed through Ursula's veins. Snape had made Lily feel like she wasn't worth it and had broken her heart. No one, _no_ _one_, hurt her friends and got away with it.

"Let me deal with it," Ursula growled before storming over to the entrance. She threw open the portrait and saw Snape sitting on the ground looking pitiful and despondent. That just infuriated Ursula more. How dare he try to act like he was the one hurt when he was the one that caused the pain kind, sweet, forgiving Lily was feeling right now. She yanked him to his feet and violently shoved him into the stone wall.

A sick satisfaction spread through her stomach when she heard the painful crack of his head against the stone. She placed her forearm forcefully against his throat and with her other hand she placed her wand underneath his chin.

"I swear on my brother's life, I you ever even think the name Lily Evans again, I will destroy you." She growled at him, her top lip curling up in hatred and disgust.

"Please," Snape's raspy voice begged, "Just let me talk to her."

Ursula leaned forward, causing Snape to choke more, "You had more than enough to say today. What you said is unforgivable," she moved her wand and painfully pressed it against his left forearm. "And you decided to play with fire. This is your reward."

She shoved him back before she disappeared back into the common room. Not yet done, she turned around and glared at the teary eyed boy to add salt to the wound, "I want to thank you, actually. Lily's inconsolable right now and you want to know who is comforting her right now? James. And you won't do anything about it because Lily doesn't know about that tattoo on your arm. One slip up, one attempt to sabotage James and Lily's relationship and don't even think for one second that I won't tell her."

Ursula was about to walk back into the common room, but Snape was unable to let Ursula have the last word, "You would have made a great Slytherin." He said breathily, his breathing labored from being choked.

She shook her head, "As that may be, I only do what I do out of love. You do what you do for empty promises of power."

With that, she turned and disappeared back into her common room, leaving the heartbroken and lost Slytherin gasping for breath on the floor. She honestly didn't care what happened to him; she had a transfiguration exam in the morning and there was no way in hell she wasn't going to be at the top of her game for her best subject.

* * *

_So there you go. Also, just a little tidbit of information, if you thought Ursula's and Snape's interaction seemed familiar, it is. If you go to chapter five of this story there is a vision about halfway through the chapter of this happening. There are going to be a lot of what Elyse said/saw coming true so I'll try to make sure I give a reference at the bottom of the chapters it happens so the big pictures starts to make a little more sense. _

_Some comments/notes about reviews:  
_

_Livestrong617 - A lot of what Regulus believes/really means will be revealed in his own little spin off. The first chapter for that is already up and I plan to do the next chapter in Regulus's point of view. I think it will be interesting because it is going to show the true evolution of Regulus; not the one that he makes others see. I hope you liked the ending of Snape and Lily. This is officially it for them and the beginning of James and Lily finally becoming friends and eventually onto something more. _

_Kerreb7 - It's perfectly alright if you haven't reviewed in a while! Thanks for keeping on reading this story! I hope that you liked this chapter._

_10-15 - Yeah, if you thought last chapter was long, this one is a bit longer. Sorry about that. I just like writing longer chapters for the most part because I feel like I want to include as much as possible in the story. Also, the first oneshot is up and I hope to have the next up by the end of this week. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I actually get it done. We'll see. But don't worry, that story is basically written out in my head so all I have to do it actually type it out._

_Laveycee - I actually don't know who the new Doctor is yet. I don't want to know! It's terribly hard to avoid any pictures and names but so far I've made it this far. You know what would be ab extra-awesome-terrifying prank for April Fool's day? Getting little robotic angles that move when someone isn't looking at it, king of like those snazzy phones that pause movies and stuff when there isn't eye contact. That would scare the living daylights out of me and simply be a wonderful prank for all whovians._


End file.
